Templars: The Darkness Rising
by Aslan's Author
Summary: Clara Collins didn't know anything about the Knights Templar, but she didn't expect them to be a secret organisation that battled demons and other dark creatures. Now Clara is thrust into world that she cannot understand to try and save the Human Race from extinction. Please Read and Review. I know this isn't a classic fairy tale story but it is fantasy none the less.
1. Chapter 1

Templars: The Darkness Rising

Chapter One

_The Louvre, Paris, France_

The man hurried down the darkened corridors, he kept glancing behind him as the shadowy figure got closer and closer. The man was elderly and wore a brown moth eaten suit, he panted as he continued to run however it seemed whatever was following him was closing in.

He turned the corner into another corridor but stopped dead at seeing three men dressed in long black cloaks, their faces were covered by hoods and they all were pointing crossbows at him. He turned to go back but was met with a man also wearing a black cloak; he had black curly hair which reached his shoulders.

"It's good to see you again Charles" the man said

"I wish I could say the same about you" Charles replied

The man just smiled, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a scroll. He then held it out for Charles, who slowly reached out and took it from his hand. His eyes scanned the scroll and the more he read the more his eyes narrowed.

"So this is why you've returned, this is a legend nothing more" Charles said

"Spare me the denial tricks Charles, where is the key"? The man asked

"I don't know what you are talking about" Charles answered

The man shook his head and looked at the different priceless pieces of art; he then turned back at Charles and shook his head for a second time. Charles however stood firm and stood facing him refusing to back down from his stare.

"Tell me or its death" The man informed drawing a sword from his cloak

Charles watched the blade; he took a deep breath and stood up straight. The man gave a small smile at the old man's bravery; he had to admire him a little bit.

"You will never find the key" Charles said clearly

"We'll see" The man answered with a small smile before he stuck the sword straight through Charles's torso. He retracted the blade and wiped it free of blood as Charles hit the floor dead.

"We have work to do" The man said turning to the three other men whose faces were still concealed by their hoods.

# # #

_New York City, USA_

The young girl was fast asleep in her bed; the sun had already risen and was pouring in through the window. She was snoring and her face was covered by long curly brunette hair, a golden retriever was curled up at the bottom of the bed his eyes watching protectively over his owner.

The door to the room opened and a woman walked in, she immediately laughed at the sight of the girl her face buried into the pillow. She walked over and gently began shaking the girl while the dog continued to watch.

"Clara, Clara" The woman said quietly

The girl moaned and slowly sat up and pushed her hair away from her face. She was a pretty girl with green eyes and freckles over her nose; however she looked tired and sighed as she looked into the face of her mother.

"What time is it"? Clara asked

"Half past nine, you promised you would meet Sebastian at the natural history museum today" Her mother explained

"Oh yeah, what a great thing to do on a Saturday" she mumbled sarcastically

"Oh come on grumpy, who knows you might learn something" her mom said laughing

Clara sat up and smiled at her dog, she held out her hands and the dog automatically moved into her arms where she wrapped them around him and pushed her face into his golden fur.

"Morning Alfie, were you watching over me again"? Clara asked him

"It seems so" Her mother answered

Alfie had been doing that since the night her father was murdered, when the police came to the apartment and informed them on his death Alfie slept on her bed that night and he seems determined to stay with her every night.

"I'll go and make you some breakfast" her mom said smiling

Clara smiled back and watched as her mom exited her room; Clara's full name was Clara Collins. She was a normal sixteen year old girl; she had normal friends a normal family and a normal life; however she did not know that events had been put in place which would change her life together.

# # #

"Those are the Knights Templar; they were created in eleven nineteen to protect Christians in the holy lands during the Crusades"

"Fascinating" Clara muttered

She was stood in the middle of the natural history museum in front of three wax models of knights with their swords raised in victory. Her friend Sebastian stood next to her; he was also sixteen and also a bit of a geek. He had black curly hair and big black glasses that sometimes made him look funny depending on what expressions he made.

"Oh come on Clara, history is not that bad" Sebastian said

"I didn't say it was Bas, but I don't care about some stupid Crusade knights who are not important at all" Clara replied

"Oh believe me young lady the Knights Templar are very important" a voice from behind her said

Clara and Sebastian both turned around to see an elderly man with white hair and a white beard. He was wearing a grey suit and was holding a black cane in his right hand, He seemed pleasant enough but Clara couldn't help but be a little uncomfortable.

"Ah Professor Taylor good to see you again" Sebastian said smiling

"You too Sebastian, but who is your friend who doubts the Templars"? The Professor replied

Clara looked from the professor to Sebastian and back again, she didn't understand why these two were so interested in this group of knights and she didn't understand why they were pressuring her just because she said she found them unimportant.

"Professor Cornelius Taylor, this is my friend Clara Collins" Sebastian said

"Nice to meet you Clara" Professor Taylor said shaking her hand

"You too" Clara mumbled in reply

The Professor then made his way over to the exhibit and stared at the waxworks of the Templar Knights. He then looked at Clara and she couldn't but feel uncomfortable under his stare.

"So Clara, what do you know about the Knights Templars"? He asked

"Only that they were created to protect Christians during the Crusades" Clara answered

"Sebastian been giving you lectures has he"? The professor asked chuckling

Sebastian looked a bit offended at that, but chose not to respond to that comment. Clara gave a small smile and nodded. The professor smiled and turned back to the exhibit, Clara watched him and she could swear he looked at them like he knew them.

"The Templars Clara are a fascinating subject, there are so many different myths and legends associated with them, for example like they were the protectors of the Holy Grail" The Professor explained

"I'm sorry professor but I'm afraid history is not Clara's favourite subjects" Sebastian said

"Ah pity, but I tell you what Clara allow me to give you a book about the Templars and see how interesting they are when you read it"

"Erm yeah sure and I think you mean were interesting not are" Clara corrected

"Oh yes, of course" He replied with a twinkle in his eye which caused Clara to become confused.

# # #

Clara and Sebastian left the museum twenty minutes later; Clara now held a brown covered book with golden writing saying _The Knights Templar_ on the front. Clara turned back to the museum and saw Professor Taylor in the one of the windows looking at her.

When she spotted him he raised a hand and waved, Clara shook with nerves but she didn't know why. The professor seemed to give off a weird feeling and Clara couldn't seem to put a finger on what it was.

"That professor's a bit weird"

"He's a bit eccentric, but he is a good man" Sebastian replied

Clara rolled her eyes at that, Sebastian seemed to be able to say something nice about anyone and quality which she secretly admired. As she was thinking her cell phone rang, she pulled it out of her pocket and checked the screen.

"Who is it"? Asked Sebastian

"My mom" Clara asked answering it

"Clara where are you"? Her mom asked straight away

"I've just left the museum" She answered

"Come home now"

"Why mom, I'm sixteen not six"

"Don't argue with me Clara, get home now"!

Her mom then hung up, Clara growled in anger as Sebastian gave her a sympathetic smile and put a reassuring arm around her shoulder.

"I can't believe she's still doing this"

"She's just worried about you" Sebastian said

"Don't defend her, she needs to let me grow up" argued Clara

"Hey come on, I'll walk you home"

They carried on walking down the street; both of them didn't notice that they were being watched by somebody wearing a black hoodie. They figure looked across the street and saw Professor Taylor standing there who nodded to him.

The figure then began walking after Clara and Sebastian, Professor Taylor watched him go before he finally turned back towards the museum. He gave one more glance at the person before re-entering the museum.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Clara slammed the door behind her as she entered her apartment, her mother startled and turned to face her scowling daughter.

"Now Clara I know you're angry, but it's for your own good" her mom said with her hands raised in surrender

"For my own good, you treat me like a child"! Clara shouted

"One day you will understand" her mother said sighing

"Dad would never have treated me like this"!

"Your father was murdered, I don't want the same thing to happen to you" her mom argued

Clara looked stunned at that, she turned and ran to her room slamming the door behind her. Alfie was lying on the floor next to her bed and instantly looked up; Clara ran to her bed and jumped on, the book about the Templars slipped from her grasp and landed with a thud on the floor.

Alfie jumped onto the bed next to her and started trying to lick her face; Clara sat up and wrapped her arms around him. She was still amazed at how he seemed to sense when she was upset.

She continued to cry as the day slowly wore on and the sun slowly began to set. Her mother had knocked on her door saying dinner was ready but Clara only yelled at her to leave her alone, however now Clara was regretting it as her stomach was rumbling from hunger.

Rain began to pound her window causing Clara to look outside; the rain was heavy which caused her to sigh as she knew that if it carried on all day tomorrow she was sure to be stuck inside.

Something then caught her eye; somebody wearing a black hoodie was standing on the street opposite. Whoever it was seemed to be watching her apartment; Clara became uncomfortable and closed her curtains blocking the person from view.

She then returned to her bed where she laid down and put one arm around Alfie, she stared at the ceiling of her room which had embarrassingly had fairies on. Clara knew she was sixteen and too old to be believing in them but her father told her many stories about them, so she kept them up there as a memory of him.

She slowly began to drift off, soon the sound of the rain died out as her head fell to one side and she began to snore. Alfie watched her for a few minutes before he too laid his head down and slowly closed his eyes.

# # #

Clara awoke to see her room was very dark; Alfie was still lying next to her. She swore she had been dreaming about fairies flying around her while she ran around the lake house her family owned in Maine.

"Weird dream" She mumbled to herself

She then looked at the floor and saw the book about the Templars Professor Taylor had given her at the museum. She opened it and flicked through the opening chapters; she didn't find it that interesting and didn't understand why Sebastian and Professor Taylor both wanted her to read this.

However when she got to chapter five, she stopped as she saw a myth of the Templars that finally got her attention.

_It is said that when the Knights of Templar were created in 1119, they were created for more than just protecting Christians in the Holy Lands. It is said that they were created by Cardinals of the Vatican to do one thing and one thing only, to protect the world from evil. _

_However after two centuries of fighting evil, the church was frightened that the Templars were gaining too much power so the Pope declared them all Satan worshippers and ordered their immediate arrest. _

_Many Templars were burned at the stake; the date was Friday the 13__th__ October 1307. However rumours say that some Templars managed to escape and fled Europe, the Templars were said to have carried on as a secret organisation and still exist today. _

Clara had to admit that did interest her, it made her feel a bit weird to imagine that a secret organisation existed and battled different evil creatures. Then Clara suddenly remembered the strange person outside, she quickly moved to the window and drew back the curtain however there was nobody there; whoever that person was seemed to have moved on but Clara couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

Sensing her trouble Alfie moved from the bed and sat next to her, Clara stroked him behind the ear as she stared at the rain soaked night. She checked her alarm clock and saw that it was two o'clock in the morning, her hunger was worse now and she couldn't stop her stomach from growling.

She moved to her bedroom door and slowly opened it, her mom was obviously in bed but she wondered if she could get some food from the kitchen without making too much noise. However Alfie moved passed her and then nudged her leg with his nose, she looked down to see a sandwich on a plate.

She couldn't help but smile, she reached down and picked up the plate and brought it back inside the room. She silently thanked her mother as she bit into the sandwich and she moaned in delight, she loved ham and cheese sandwiches and once again she thanked her mother.

After she was finished, she placed the plate on the floor and laid back down again. Soon her eyes closed and she was fast asleep once again, Alfie watched for a few minutes before he too laid his head down and slowly closed his eyes.

# # #

The next time Clara woke up it was to the sound of her door opening with a bang and her curtains getting ripped open. She sat up startled to see her mother standing there with panic on her face; Clara looked at her alarm clock and saw that it was eight o'clock.

"Mom, what's going on"? She asked

"Quickly get up" her mom answered

Something was definitely wrong, her mother usually moaned about Clara sleeping in the clothes she wore during the day but for some reason she was ignoring it today.

"Mom, what's wrong"?

"Just do as I say Clara" Her mother said hurriedly before she ran outside the room

Clara quickly got off her bed and ran into the living room with Alfie quick behind her, her mom was stuffing food into a backpack in the kitchen. When Clara went to speak again she held up her hand to be quiet, she then went into Clara's room and quickly exited stuffing clothes in the backpack.

"Now Clara, I'm sorry about this but you have to leave" her mom informed

"What"? "Why"?

"There's no time to explain, take Alfie with you" she said throwing his lead at her followed by Clara's green jacket.

Clara was then pushed towards the door; she couldn't believe what was going on. Her mom seemed to be on the verge of tears she could sense she was hurting her daughter, when she got her to the door she cupped her face in her hands and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Clara, I promise I will find you" her mom whispered

"Mom, please you scaring me" Clara begged

"I'm sorry, but if you stay in here you're in danger now go" Her mother answered pushing her out of the door and into the hallway

Clara looked at her mom one last time before she took off down the hallway and then down the stairs. She didn't know what was happening, apparently she was in danger but she didn't know from what.

She hurried down the stairs with Alfie right behind her; she made it to the lobby and exited into the street. It was still raining outside and everybody on the street was either hurrying to get out of the rain or carrying umbrellas.

She quickly put her jacket on and put the lead on Alfie, she then proceeded down the road looking around her. The person in the black hoodie popped into her mind again and she couldn't help but think he was connected to all this.

She didn't know where she was going, she just carried on walking not knowing what to do. She turned into an alleyway and pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket; she dialled Sebastian's number and held the phone to her ear hoping he would pick up.

"Hello" his voice answered

"Sebastian, I need your help" Clara pleaded

"Clara"? "What's wrong"?

"I don't know, my mom made me leave she said I was in danger" She explained hurriedly

"Okay calm down, come over to mine and we'll talk about this" Sebastian said gently

"Excuse me miss"

Clara turned to see a Police Officer walking towards her, she sighed in relief she quickly told Sebastian she would call him before she hung up. However the closer the officer got Alfie began to growl, she told him to be quiet but he jumped in front of her and carried on growling.

"Hey boy, calm down" said the officer

"I'm sorry about him, but I'm glad you're here" Clara responded

The officer smiled and then took a step forward however Alfie continued to growl, this confused Clara as he was never like this. The officer however continued to approach taking one small step at a time.

"Are you Clara Collins"? The officer asked

"Yes" Clara answered puzzled

"Your mother called the police; she said you were in danger"

"I'm sorry I don't know what's going on" Clara replied

"You're about too"

Alfie then gave a loud bark, Clara then screamed as the officer suddenly turned into a grey skinned creature with grey horns, razor sharp and big bat like wings. Clara screamed again as Alfie charged forward and pounced on the creature.

The creature however managed to catch Alfie and throw him with surprising strength into the side of a dumpster. The creature then turned towards Clara and slowly walked towards her holding out its right arm towards her, Clara started backing away and before she could scream again the creature moved quickly and had wrapped its hand around her throat.

Clara felt like her life was being squeezed out of her; the creature raised her up by one arm causing her feet to dangle in the air.

"Where is the key"? The creature hissed

Clara didn't answer, she tried to pull the creature's arm from her throat but it was no use the creature was too strong. She was asked again about a key but she couldn't answer, eventually the creature dropped her on the ground and stepped on her knee where a crack was heard and Clara screamed out in pain.

"I'll ask one more time, where is the key"? The creature demanded

"I don't know what you're talking about"! Clara shouted

The creature shook its head and then raised its foot once more; however it suddenly froze and stared down the alleyway in shock. Clara managed to look down the alleyway to see somebody wearing a black hoodie and what looked like black cargo trousers walking towards them.

The creature backing away as the person suddenly pulled two short swords out from under the hoodie.

"Away Templar"! The creature yelled

Clara opened her mouth in shock; she couldn't believe the creature was calling the person Templar. She didn't know what was going which made her the most scared she had ever been.

The person walked past her without even glancing, the creature swung its hand at the person but they easily dodged it. The person then quickly sliced the creature's arm causing it to shout in pain before they sliced its torso causing it to collapse on its knees.

"Why were you asking about a key"? The person demanded in a male voice

"Go to hell Templar" the creature snarled

"You first" the person replied cutting off the creatures head in one stroke.

The head rolled onto the pavement and sat there for a few seconds before it disappeared into smoke along with its body. The person then turned to Clara with their swords still drawn and covered in what seemed like black blood.

Clara slowly backed away as the person approached her, Clara couldn't help but think her time was up. However the person put both swords away underneath the hoodie and pulled back the hood to reveal a teenage boy with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hello Clara Collins" The boy said


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"How do you know my name"? Clara asked shocked

"I knew your father" the boy answered

Clara's eyes opened in surprise, she didn't know what was happening anymore. First her mom forced her out of the apartment claiming she was in danger, then some hideous creature attacked her and now she had been saved by some boy claiming to have known her father.

"Who are you"? Clara asked

"My name is Jared Strombringer"

"What kind of name is Stormbringer"?

"It's the name I chose" Jared answered with a scowl

Clara gulped at that, she had to admit Jared scared her. He kneeled on the ground and looked at her knee, she winced when he touched it but he didn't even look up at her. Alfie suddenly stirred and limped over to where Clara sat and began licking her face.

"Hey boy, you okay"? Clara whispered

Jared stood up and looked around the alleyway; he looked back down at Clara and Alfie. He seemed to look puzzled about something however he didn't say anything about it.

"Your knee is dislocated, I know somebody who can help but you need to come with me" He explained

"I don't know you, anyway if my knee is dislocated I need a hospital" Clara replied

"Hospitals are too slow, now come on before more of them arrive" Jared said holding out a hand for her to take.

"More of them"? "What was that thing"?

"It was a demon" Jared answered still with his arm held out

Clara shook her head in disbelief, she felt lost. Yesterday she was a normal sixteen year old girl, now she was being attacked by demons and rescued by a weird teenage boy. However Alfie limped nearer to Jared and surprisingly started licking his hand.

"Good dog" Jared muttered

He then looked back at Clara and held out his hand, she looked at it for a few seconds before finally deciding to take it. He helped her up and placed her left arm around his neck, Clara groaned in pain as they slowly started walking down the alleyway. Alfie limped behind them not making a sound; Clara looked at him and was so happy he was with her as now nothing made sense to her.

"Why did that creature call you a Templar"? Clara asked trying to ignore the pain in her knee.

"Everything will be explained to you when we get you back to the lair" Jared informed

"The lair, what lair"?

"Trinity Church"

Clara was confused at that; she had never been in Trinity Church before but she had never heard it been called the lair and didn't seem a place that somebody like Jared would be familiar with.

"How are we going to get there"? Clara asked as she knew Trinity Church was quite a bit away from her apartment.

"Let me worry about that"

Clara didn't know how to respond to that, however her question was answered when they reached the end of the alleyway and there parked at the very end was a car. Jared put Clara near a wall where she leant against it, Alfie sat near her both of them were wincing in pain.

Clara watched Jared closely as he looked inside the car; he then looked around the alleyway quickly before he put his elbow through the car window shattering it. Clara jumped up at that and just watched in shock as Jared unlocked the door and moved over to the driver's seat where he pulled different wires out from underneath the steering wheel and started joining them together.

The engine of the car started and Jared reappeared and helped Clara into the passenger seat of the car. He then put Alfie into the backseat before he jumped back into the car and drove out of the alleyway and onto the main road.

"Wait what about my mom we need to go to my apartment"

"We can't, it might not be safe" Jared replied

"What if she's hurt"?

"I'll send somebody over to her" he said before he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a small bag which he opened and held it out for Clara to hold.

"Pour it into my hand" he ordered

Clara did as she was told and poured the contents into his open hand, the contents of the bag was nothing but dust. This caused Clara to become even more puzzled, she looked from the dust to him but she couldn't get any more understanding from it.

"What's the dust for"?

"It's a way for me to contact people who can go to your apartment"

He then raised the dust to his mouth and whispered to it. He then blew the dust from his hand, it flew from his hand and then out of the broken window much to the amazement of Clara.

"How can dust contact someone"?

"Please Clara, everything will be explained to you once we reach the lair" Jared explained

Something then suddenly hit the roof, Jared and Clara both jumped. They heard movement on the roof confirming that someone was definitely up there; Clara looked to Jared for some kind of answer but he was too busy trying to see what it was out of the cars mirrors.

"Clara take the wheel"

"I don't know how to drive" Clara protested

"Do you know how to fight"? Jared asked

"No"!

"Then drive"

Jared then climbed out of the car window as Clara moved over to the driver's seat with difficulty. She held the wheel with both hands and put her feet on the pedals, she knew how to drive a little only by what her mom had showed her. She just hoped that she could remember how to do it here.

# # #

Jared climbed onto the roof of the car and he smiled at what he saw, there standing on the roof was another bat like demon exactly the same as the one in the alleyway. Jared immediately pulled his twin swords from his hoodie and pointed them at the demon.

"Give me the key Templar"! The demon demanded

"What key is it you want"? Jared asked in return

"You know exactly what key I ask for" The demon yelled lunging forward and pinning Jared down on the roof.

Jared struggled as the demon opened his mouth to reveal hideous yellow teeth, Jared groaned at the stench of its rotting mouth. He tried to stab the demon in the head with one of his swords but the demon blocked it and knocked the sword out of his hand and into the New York street.

Jared then curled his fist and hit the demon as many times as he could in his face; however the creature clawed his face causing him to growl in pain. Jared reacted and managed to roll the demon down onto the hood of the car causing Clara who was still trying to drive to scream.

Jared then jumped down onto the demon, but he was caught and thrown to the edge of the hood where he only just managed to hold on by grabbing the car's radiator grill. Clara screamed again as the demon turned towards her, Alfie growled and jumped into the passenger seat trying once again to protect her.

The demon growled and smashed the windscreen; it then grabbed Clara by the throat causing her to swerve the car into the other side of the road.

"Oh Crap"! Jared yelled as oncoming traffic headed towards them and began beeping and avoiding them.

Jared then looked to see that the demon had held of Clara, he tried to pull himself up while Alfie bit into the demons arm it to growl in anger and pain.

Jared finally managed to climb up onto the hood of the car and he stuck his sword straight into the demon's shoulder. It screamed and turned towards him, letting go of Clara in the process.

The demon then grabbed Jared by the throat and began choking him; the demon did not flinch when Jared punched it as many times as he could in the face. However nothing seemed to be able to defeat this demon.

Clara's knee was hurting even more and her throat was starting to burn, she looked up and her eyes met Jared's he too was being choked and it seemed that both of them would not make it to safety.

That was until Jared looked to see a truck heading towards them; he then reached around the demon and grabbed his sword which was still embedded in its shoulder. He twisted the blade causing the demon to howl in pain.

"Clara, head towards that truck"!

"Are you crazy?"

"Just trust me"

Clara did as he asked and deliberately moved in front of the oncoming truck, Jared continued to twist the blade and then with all his might he pulled the sword from its shoulder and then pushed it off of the car.

Clara swerved away from the truck in time, but the demon however was hit full on by it. Jared was breathing heavily on the car; he climbed back inside and managed to take back control of the car from Clara.

However he noticed that something was wrong with Clara her eyes were fading and she was beginning to mumble deliriously.

"Oh no, Clara stay with me" He said shaking her as Alfie began to whine and lick her face

The last thing Clara heard was Jared's voice and saw his blue eyes in front of her before her eyes finally closed and everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Clara slowly opened her eyes, she groaned in pain as she slowly sat up to look at her surroundings. She seemed to be lying on a small bed in a small room which was only lit by a couple of candles.

She looked at her knee to see that it was bandaged and then suddenly everything came back to her. Her mother forcing her out of the apartment, the attack by the two creatures and finally meeting the boy named Jared.

She slowly got out of bed and winced as she put her knee down on the floor, she guessed that her knee had been put in place but she knew it would still hurt for a while. She had a better look at the room and saw that all the walls where stone bricks; she speculated that she was in some kind of old building.

She saw a wooden door and moved over to it, she slowly turned the handle and opened it so a crack appeared. She bent down and peaked through the crack, she saw that the door opened onto some kind of stone balcony which went all the way around in a square.

Clara made sure the cost was clear before opening the door wider and moving out onto the balcony. She went over to the edge and looked down; there underneath was what seemed to be a library. There were about thirty bookcases all crammed with different books, Clara could not help but be a little amazed.

She spotted a spiral staircase and proceeded to it, she saw that there was many different wooden doors on the upper floor however she did not dare open any of them, she was too afraid of what she might find.

She reached the stairs and slowly headed down them into the library, she suddenly heard classical music coming from somewhere however she could not see where. She walked passed some of the bookcases and looked at the titles of the books.

She picked one book down at random and opened it to middle; she noticed that the writing seemed to be in Latin which was odd as not many people could speak Latin these days.

"Maximum telum est virtus potest in cor hominis" Clara read aloud

"The greatest weapon a person can have is the courage in their heart" a voice said

Clara spun around and dropped the book on the floor, there standing by the fire wearing the same grey suit and holding the same black cane was Professor Taylor. Clara's shock must have shown because he chuckled.

"Welcome Clara, it is good to see you again"

"Professor Taylor, what are you doing here"? She asked

"Clara you are inside Trinity Church, actually more like underneath it" he informed ignoring her question

"What do you mean, underneath it"?

"We call this place the lair"

"Whose lair is it"?

Professor Taylor smiled and then pointed to something behind her; she looked behind her to see a Latin inscription carved into the stone wall above a set of double doors. She turned back to Professor Taylor who was still smiling.

"Templariis stare, Daemones discurrunt" Clara read

"Templars stand, Demons Run" explained the Professor

Clara looked back at the professor; she remembered one of those creatures calling the boy Jared a Templar. The Professor however seemed to keep on smiling, Clara was becoming more and more confused and she hoped he could answer her questions.

"You see Clara we are the Knights Templar"

"But the Templars stopped existing in the fourteenth century" Clara replied

"No Clara, we were hunted and most of us were killed by the Vatican however some escaped and took the Templars underground into a secret society"

Clara was lost, she didn't understand why the Knights Templar had anything to do with why her mother forced her out of the apartment and why she was attacked by two weird looking creatures.

"Look what has the Knights Templars got to do with me"? Clara asked frustrated

"The Templars are your past, present and future" Professor Taylor said cryptically

"What are you talking about"?

"Your father was a Templar"

Clara actually gasped in shock at that, her father couldn't have been a Knight her mother would have told her. However Professor Taylor kept on smiling like he knew exactly what was going on in her head.

"My father was a history teacher at JFK High School"

"Yes he was, but he was also a Templar"

"What do Templars even do, guard the Holy Grail"? Clara asked sarcastically

"Of course not, Templars exist to battle demons" The Professor said matter of factly

Clara gasped once again; she started rubbing her head she didn't know what to believe anymore. The Templars battle demons, her father battled demons nothing made sense anymore.

"You must be joking" Clara muttered

"No Clara I am not, we are the world's last defence against evil"

"So you're saying that demons exist"?

"Yes they exist, there is a heaven and there is a hell"

Clara started pacing this was too much for her mind to take, Professor Taylor waited patiently he seemed to understand what she was going through. She turned back to him where he gave a sympathetic smile.

"So that means there is a god and there is a devil"? Clara asked afraid of the answer

"Yes, very much so" The Professor answered

As Clara continued to pace thoughts of her mom popped into her mind, she hoped she was alright she didn't know if any of those demon things went after her. Her fear seemed to show on her face as Professor Taylor lowered his head causing tears to start forming in Clara's eyes.

"My mom" she whispered

"I sent two of our knights to your apartment, the whole place was ransacked" informed the Professor

"But what about my mom"!

"We couldn't find any sign of your mom, she's disappeared"

Clara felt like she needed to scream yet no sound came out of her mouth, she wondered why on earth her mother thought she was in danger and more importantly how could her mom have known about it, so many questions she needed answering.

"Why was I brought here"?

"You were being hunted Clara, the demons believe you hold in your possession a key and they are determined to get it" Professor Taylor explained

"Key"? "What key"?

"We don't know Clara, but we brought you here because it is the only place where you can be safe"

"How can this be the only place I can be safe"?

"Well first of all it's a church and demons cannot step on holy ground, and secondly we have a ten digit lock code which is very difficult to break" The Professor informed smiling

Clara had to sit down; she spotted a comfortable arm chair which sat right next to the fire. She made her way over to it and fell into it; the professor seemed to smile at that but Clara didn't feel like smiling.

"Now Clara, time to meet the other Knights"

The professor then put his finger and thumb in his mouth and whistled really loudly, first the double doors on the other side of the room opened to reveal a young teenage boy with long black hair and a young teenage girl with blonde hair.

Both of them were wearing black leather jackets, the boy had two axes attached to the waist of black cargo trousers while the girl had a black bow strapped to her bow.

"Clara, let me introduce Alex Marshall and Emily Howard"

The boy called Alex nodded while the girl called Emily nodded and smiled. A small door on the other side of the room opened and in walked a boy with short red hair and freckles all over his nose; he wore a grey hoodie and blue jeans along with brown glasses on his face.

"Clara, this is Hugo"

The boy smiled but weakly then put his head down, Clara suspected he was a little bit shy. She returned his smile however then a figure jumped from the upper floor and landed with a thud in the middle of the library.

"And of course you've already met Jared"

Clara instantly recognised Jared; he had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He had lost the black hoodie and instead wore a simple black T-shirt along with black cargo trousers and black boots. It seemed these people were very fond of the colour black.

"Now Clara, we have an offer for you" The Professor said as the rest of the group moved closer together to form a circle.

"What's that"? Clara asked suspiciously

"We would like you to follow in your father's footsteps and join the Knights Templar"

Clara's mouth opened in shock, she couldn't believe they wanted her to join them. They wanted her to become a Knight who battles demons, Clara felt like she had gone mad.

"I can't, I'm no knight I can't kill demons"! She exclaimed

"None of us could at first Clara, we will train you" The Professor answered

"Train me"?

"Yes, you see Templars are regular humans except we have one gift which is second sight" Hugo mumbled

"What's second sight"?

"Second sight is when you are able to see demons, not many humans can do it" The Professor explained

Clara looked into the fire, would her father have wanted her to become one? No he wouldn't have wanted her put in danger. She shook her head and raised herself from the chair; the Professor's look seemed to turn to one of sadness.

"No, I'm sorry you have the wrong person"

"Please Clara at least sleep on it" The Professor pleaded

Clara nodded and then returned to the room she woke up in. When she reached the upper level she looked back down and saw every single one of them looking at her, she closed her eyes and opened the door to the room and closed it behind her.

# # #

"I don't know Professor, are you sure she has what it takes"? Alex asked

"Yes, she is her father's daughter" The Professor replied

"And we owe it to him to train her, give her time she will come round" Jared said his eyes not leaving the door she had disappeared through.

The rest of group all moved off to do their own things, however Jared stayed still staring at the door for a few minutes. Finally he sighed and left the library hoping that tomorrow she would have gotten over the shock.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Clara laid down on her bed and tried process everything she had heard, she couldn't believe her father was a Templar and battled Demons. More importantly she couldn't believe they had offered to train her as a one, everything was a mess she wanted to call Sebastian but she had dropped her cell phone in the alleyway when she was attacked.

She wondered where Alfie now she could use his comfort, her stomach rumbled revealing her hunger. She didn't know how long she had been in the room; there were no windows and no clocks; however it seemed hours.

The door to her room then opened and in came Jared accompanied by Alfie, he barked as soon as he saw her and then jumped on the bed and began to lick her face.

"Hey boy, it's so good to see you" she whispered to him

"I've brought you some food" Jared informed holding out a plate with scrambled egg on it.

Clara snatched it from his hand with a rushed thanks and began to eat it greedily, Jared watched her with a small smile on his face. After she was finished she put the plate back on the ground and looked at Jared who still stood in the doorway watching her.

"Have you thought about our offer"? He asked

"Yes, I'm sorry but I don't think I'm the sort of person to fight demons" Clara said gravely

Jared hung his head at that, he understood that it would be a difficult decision but he had hoped that she would decide to follow in her father's footsteps and agree to become a Templar.

Clara watched him, she knew that he wanted her to join the Templars but she couldn't believe she was strong enough to do that. Besides she didn't know where her mother was and she didn't have time to begin training to be a demon hunter.

"Clara, will you come with me"? Jared suddenly asked holding out his hand

"Where"?

"You'll see" he answered with a small smile

Clara hesitated for a few seconds before taking his outstretched hand; she noticed the scratches on his cheek from that demon and shuddered a little at the memory of it. They then began to walk towards the door, Alfie followed but Clara held up a hand.

"Stay Alfie, I won't be gone long" Clara said smiling

She then closed the door behind her and followed Jared down the stairs and into the library where she could hear classical music playing again.

"Who's playing that music"? Clara asked

"It's the professor's, he loves listening to people like Mozart and Beethoven" Jared explained

Clara smiled at that, she remembered her father used to love listening to music like that. She guessed that her father and the Professor were friends, then she remembered what Jared had said about her father.

"Jared, how did you know my father"?

Jared opened a door and went down into a stone corridor; Clara followed and closed the door behind her. She waited patiently for Jared to answer, however it seemed he didn't want to answer.

"Jared"?

"Your father taught me everything I knew, he was one of the greatest men I ever met" Jared explain not looking at her.

Clara smiled as she followed him down the stone walled corridor, there were torches along the walls lighting up the corridor. Eventually they reached a circular golden door which caused Clara to stare at it in wonder; Jared just walked up to it and pulled many bolts and locks. He then pulled the door open with surprising strength and gestured Clara out of the door in front of him.

He then closed the door and locked it again; Clara saw a dial of numbers and finally understood what Professor Taylor had said about a ten digit lock code. She looked around to see she was in another stone hallway however she saw stairs leading up; Jared went up the stairs causing her to follow him.

They followed the stairs up until they reached what looked like a dead end; there was just a big stone slab. However just when Clara was going to ask what now, Jared pushed it with a lot of strength causing the slab to swing forward like a door.

They both stepped to find themselves inside a church; Clara could see what Professor meant when he said the lair was underneath Trinity Church. Jared moved to one of the pews and picked up a black leather jacket, he put it on and smiled at Clara.

He then began moving to the door, Clara followed him but stopped as she saw a priest standing there staring at them. She wondered if the priest knew about the Templars, but her question was answered when Jared nodded to the priest who nodded back.

Jared opened the doors to the church and proceeded outside, he led Clara past the cemetery and out into the street where a black motorbike was parked on the kerb.

Jared moved over to the motorbike and climbed on it, he gestured for Clara to hop on. She climbed on behind him and nervously put her hands on his waist, she thought she saw him smile but she couldn't be sure.

They took off on the bike at full speed; Clara had to hold onto him tighter to stop herself from falling off. Many horns of cars sounded as they sped through New York traffic forgetting about demons for a few minutes as they embraced the feeling of the wind in their hair.

# # #

_British Museum, London, England_

"Tell me where the key is"! The man demanded,

He looked quite young with long curly black hair which reached his shoulders; he was wearing a long black cloak and was pointing a huge sword at a middle aged wearing who was wearing a brown suit.

"I don't know where it is"! The man answered

"Come now Christopher, tell me the truth" the man said sticking his sword in his shoulder causing Christopher to yell out in pain.

"You will never find Tiberius, it is safe" Christopher replied through gritted teeth

Tiberius just smiled and clicked his fingers, another figure wearing a long black cloak and was covering its face with a hood. It dragged a young teenage girl in front of him and held a dagger to her throat, Christopher's eyes opened wide in shock.

"Daddy"! The girl screamed

"Lauren"! He screamed back

"If you want your daughter to live, you will tell us where the key is Christopher" Tiberius snarled

Christopher looked from Tiberius to his daughter; finally he nodded causing Tiberius's mouth to open into a wide smile.

"The Key is in America, New York"

Tiberius's smile faltered a little bit, however it was only for a few seconds before it reappeared. He looked at Christopher who was watching him with his fearful eyes; he then looked back to his daughter scared for her life.

"It seems I'm going home" Tiberius whispered

"You will die, after what you did" Christopher spat

"I'm afraid you won't be around to see that day" Tiberius whispered before he stuck his sword straight into Christopher's throat causing his eyes to go wide and blood to pour out.

Lauren screamed and began crying; Tiberius wiped the blood from his blade and looked at Lauren. The figure holding her pushed his knife closer to her throat, but Tiberius held his hand up for him to stop.

"She's coming with us, looks like we're going to see the rest of the family" Tiberius said smiling

# # #

The children ran around laughing their heads off kicking the soccer ball around with a care in the world. The parents sat on benches and watched with smiles as their children played with their friends and enjoyed the rare the sunshine which had arrived today.

Clara and Jared sat on one of the big rocks watching the people in Central Park; they lived their lives without any problems or dangers in their lives.

"You see Clara, this is why we do it" Jared said pointing at the children's soccer game

"I understand Jared but it's not who I am" Clara argued

"None of us did at first Clara; however we all accepted the responsibility which was handed to us. Alex was found in an orphanage; Emily came to us to protect her family as demons hunt people with second sight. As for Hugo, well we rescued Hugo last year from an attack at his school and agreed to join us"

"What about you"?

"My parents were killed by demons when I was six; I remember I was standing in the street crying over their bodies when somebody picked me up. It was your father Clara; he saved my life and brought me to the lair for safety"

Clara smiled at that but didn't know if she could battle demons for the rest of her life, however she smiled at the thought of her father helping Jared, she knew he was that kind of person. Jared however sensed that she still had doubts and wished he could find a way to convince her.

"Clara the Templars have watched over humans for a long time, without us Demons would consume this world; you must accept that this is much more than just you and your mother"

Clara scowled at him like that; she then turned and looked at a small family having a picnic on the green grass. Two young children were eating ice cream and seemed to be the happiest people in the world, Clara couldn't help but smile she was beginning to see what Jared was saying.

"Did my father believe in this"? She asked

"Yes, your father understood that if we didn't fight demons then the human race would be in danger of extinction" Jared explained

Clara though about her father, she smiled at some of the memories she had of him. It had been two years since his murder and the thought of his death was still hard to think about sometimes, then she began thinking about her father and his death in more detail.

"How did my father die"?

Jared sighed at that, he slowly looked at the many different people walking through the park before he answered. He didn't want to tell Clara, but he knew that she deserved to know the truth.

"There was a young Templar named Tiberius, he was a great warrior you father trained us both. However over time Tiberius became greedy and wanted power. He kept talking about how if we had power we could rule the world, of course your father told him no but it wasn't enough to stop his greed; Tiberius betrayed and murdered your father"

Tears came to Clara's eyes at that, for the last two years she had always believed her father was murdered in a mugging gone wrong she could have never believed he was murdered by one of his very own students.

"Jared if I join the Templars, will you help me find my mother"? She asked looking into his eyes.

"Clara I swear to god, we will do everything in our power to find your mom" He replied putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Then I'm in" Clara said smiling


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Clara hit the floor for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Jared and Emily were laughing while Hugo was smiling shyly.

"Stop laughing"! Clara growled as she pulled herself up to face Alex who was teaching her hand to hand combat

"Remember Clara, trust your instincts" Jared instructed

Clara nodded and then swung her fist at Alex who easily dodged it and spun his leg which connected with hers causing Clara to land on her back roughly. Emily was laughing again, however Jared seemed to just be watching intently.

Clare slowly got back up but was straight away tripped back down by Alex who didn't seem to be giving her a chance. However when it seemed that she was going to be forced to carry on getting her ass kicked, Jared finally spoke up and said to finally call it a day.

Clara moved over to where Alfie was sitting watching her, she rested her back against the wall and stroked him behind the ear. She looked to over to see Alex staring at her darkly, he carried on doing right up until Jared walked near Clara.

"Are you okay"? He asked

"Yes, why do I need to learn hand to hand combat"? She asked back

"Because it comes in handy against Devil worshippers" Jared explained

"Devil Worshipers" Clara repeated puzzled

"Yes, Demons use them sometimes but there not the brightest humans" Jared said smiling

Clara smiled at that and then looked back to wear Alex was looking at her darkly again, she stared at him for a few seconds before he finally turned away and headed out of the training room which was only a room filled with sand.

"I'm not sure Alex like's me" Clara said nodding towards to his retreating form

"He just doesn't like strangers, give him time he'll warm up to you" Jared informed smiling

Clara and Jared both then moved out of the training room and down to the armoury, Clara's eyes bulged with amazement she had never seen so many weapons in her life. There were swords, daggers, axes, spears, maces and bows; Hugo was running around putting fresh weapons on the many different shelves.

"Ah Jared, I've got you a new sword" Hugo said spotting him and handing a new sword to him which looked identical to the one he had lost when the demon attacked.

"Thanks Hugo, the Diaboli made me lose my other one" Jared explained feeling the sword in his hand.

"The what"? Clara asked

"Oh Strutionem Diaboli, it's what we call the demon that attacked us"

"It's Latin for Horned Devil" Hugo added

"So there are different types of Demons"?

"Oh yeah, hundreds of different types we range them on a scale from one to five" Jared informed

"So what level was the Diaboli"? Clara asked interested

"That was a level four, we rarely see a level five these days"

Clara had to admit she was getting interested about this new world, although she was scared about facing demons she knew that it was all to find out if her mother was safe as well as to avenge her father; she had decided his legacy would continue.

"Now Clara, it's time for you to learn how we make the weapons" Jared said gesturing her over to where an old fashioned oven and a huge wooden bucket full of water.

"Can't we just get weapons from somebody who already makes them"?

"We could if we could kill demons with normal weapons" Hugo informed as he put a wooden stick in the bucket and swirled the water a bit.

"What do you mean"? Clara asked confused

"You see Clara, we can only kill demons with special ingredients" Jared answered

"I don't understand"

"We put a normal blade into a bucket filled with holy water, clover leaf, white oak and finally angel dust"

Clara looked at Jared with confusion, he just smiled and pulled out a small bag and sprinkled some dust into his hand. Clara recognised it as the dust Jared had used when they were trying to drive away from the demon; he said it was a way to contact people.

"What's angel dust"?

"Dried up Angel's blood"

"Angel's blood"?

"Yes we have a whole stack of it; the professor says it comes from the Archangel Gabriel himself"

Clara's eyes opened wide at that, she was finding it difficult to believe everything that was going on. Alfie sensing her discomfort nudged her leg with his nose causing her to reach down and run her hand through his fur.

"What happens when it runs out"? She asked

"It never runs out, it's different then human blood it renews itself whenever it gets to low" Hugo said smiling

Clara noticed that Hugo seemed to be less shy since she arrived and it she was happy to see it. She watched as Hugo then placed a nicely carved sword into the bucket of water for a few minutes before he placed it into the oven and held it there for a few minutes just like with the water.

"There you go Clara" he said smiling retracting the sword from the oven and showing her the beautifully carved blade.

"Is that for me"? She asked

"Yes you can have it later once the metal has cooled" Hugo explained

Emily then walked in saying that the Professor wanted to see them in the library, they all made their way over there and walked in to find the Professor standing in front of the ever burning fire, earlier Emily had informed Clara that it was Phoenix fire which could burn for eternity.

"Professor is everything alright"? Emily asked moving over to stand with Alex

"No I'm afraid not, I've just spoken to the Templars in Amsterdam it seems that both the Templars in London and Paris have been wiped out"

Everybody in the room gasped, Clara noticed that Jared fist's clenched and he surprisingly fearful for the first time since she met him. She noticed that Emily moved over to him and placed her hand on his, Clara wondered if they were together.

"Who could have done that"? Alex asked

"It seems that Tiberius is coming home"

Clara couldn't believe what she was hearing, the person who betrayed and murdered her father was returning to New York. Jared then suddenly looked straight at Clara which made her a little uncomfortable.

"He's coming back for her" Jared said causing everybody's eyes to switch to her as well

"Why would he be coming back for me"? Clara asked a little afraid

"He believes you hold a key in your possession, I'm guessing he ordered the demons to attack you and your mother" Professor Taylor explained

"But I don't have a key"! Clara protested

"We know, but that means we need to find it before he does" Emily said

"More importantly we have to know what the key unlocks" Jared added

Everybody nodded, however they were then interrupted by what sounded like a small siren sounding around the library Hugo gasped and ran through a small door on the side of the library and he was followed by Jared, Alex and Emily.

Clara was confused and looked at Professor Taylor who gave her a small smile, everybody then came back in the room.

"Two young girls were kidnapped from their home, a pentagram was found carved into their bedroom wall" Emily informed

"Sounds like another kidnapping by worshipers" Professor Taylor sighed

"Okay everybody suit up, meet out front in two minutes" Jared ordered moving over to one of the armchairs and grabbed his leather jacket which sat on it.

Clara noticed that his jacket now had two sheaths on the back where his swords now rested. She noticed that everyone was pretty much already ready; she was even surprised to see Hugo putting a green trench coat which showed he was going.

"Now Clara you stay here" said Jared

"No, I want to help" Clara replied

"No Clara, you are not fully trained and until you are no field missions" Jared said firmly before heading out of the door followed by Alex, Emily and Hugo.

"I'm sorry Clara, but he's right there are a lot of dangers out there and until you are fully trained you will have to stay behind for now" Professor Taylor whispered putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Jared told me that Tiberius murdered my father" Clara muttered still watching the door everybody had disappeared through.

"Yes, I'm afraid so"

"Then if god really exists, I swear to him that I will not rest until I'm trained up enough to face him and kill him" Clara said before she took off up the spiral staircase and into her room with Alfie close behind her.

Professor Taylor turned back to the fire and reached into his jacket pocket where he pulled out an old photograph of two men arms around each other and laughing.

"I wish you were here my old friend, your daughter seems to have inherited your spirit" he whispered smiling


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The room was full of people dancing and chanting in a huge circle, there were at least fifty people all wearing demonic masks and all had red pentagrams painted on their chests. Two girls were tied to stone tables in the middle of the room, one man was standing in between the two tables chanting and wielding a golden dagger.

One of the girls was screaming while the other one was crying and trying to pull on the ropes which bound them. The man by the table was wearing red robes and seemed to be a priest of some kind, he held up his hand and the whole room became silent.

"Tonight the Dark Lord's work continues" He announced

All of the worshippers in masks cheered as the priest held up his hand to be silent once again. The two girls continued to scream and cry which echoed around the room, the man only looked at them and smiled.

"By sacrificing these two girls to Satan we declare that only the blood of the innocent will make the dark lord powerful enough to walk the earth"

He then raised the dagger high above his head and moved over to the older of the two girls who were still screaming and crying. Then the priest gave an ear shrieking cry and was about to plunge the dagger down on the girl but stopped when he heard shouts coming from the other side of the door which led into the room.

"What is going on"? The priest demanded

The door then burst open and a man came flying through the air and landed with a thud on the floor. The priest looked closely and saw that the man was one of his guards he had positioned outside of the door.

The priest then looked at the door and his face turned into a look of fury as he saw three people all dressed in black standing in the doorway.

"Templars"! He shouted causing the rest of the Satanists to turn and face them

"Have I ever told you how much of a pain in the ass you guys are" Jared said looking at the priest

"You can't stop us Templar, the Lord of Darkness will rise"! The Priest bellowed

"Well when he does I'll happily return him to hell" Jared replied drawing his twin swords.

Alex drew his two axes and Emily loaded her bow, the priest looked at all three of them individually before he shouted at the other Satanists to charge.

Jared smiled and led Alex and Emily towards them, his twin swords easily cut through the Worshippers. He moved quickly towards the priest and the two girls who were still screaming.

Alex swung his axes with so much skill that a lot of worshippers were scared to approach them and when they did they were met with an axe cutting their throat or being impended in their skulls.

Emily fired arrow after arrow, each one found their targets. The worshippers who made it closer enough to her were with her heel typed boots smacking against the side of their heads or her bow smashed into their noses.

"Death to all Templars"! The priest yelled as he raised the dagger up to strike one of the girls, however before the dagger could come down a short sword came flying through the air and buried itself in the priest's shoulder causing him to yell in agony and drop the dagger on the floor.

Jared then quickly cut the girls free, the priest started walking towards him with a bloody hand outstretched causing the girls to scream again.

Just then a blue van came smashing through the room as causing all the worshippers to scatter out of its path. The van came to a halt and the door opened to reveal Hugo wielding a medieval ball and chain which he swung into a worshippers head.

"Emily take the girls put them in the van"! Jared ordered

Emily rushed forward slinging her bow onto her back and grabbing both of the girl's arms and pulling them towards the van while Alex continued to kill any worshipper that came near him.

"You can't stop what's on the rise Templar, Satan will walk the Earth" The priest said still with a bloody hand raised

"Then tell him I said hi" Jared replied before he stuck his other sword into the priests chest causing him to give a shriek and hit the floor dead.

"Jared let's go"! Emily shouted as she helped Alex into the van

Jared pulled both swords out of the priest and started heading to the van when he was tackled by a big black demon, he hit the floor with a thump and looked up to see a creature with black skin like a panther and a demonic face.

This demon was a level five and called Demon Araneam which is Latin for Spider Demon, named for its agility. Jared pointed both of his swords at the demon which hissed at him and began clawing the floor in anticipation; however before the demon could pounce an arrow hit its shoulder causing it to turn around at head towards Emily who had fired the arrow.

The Demon jumped onto the van and started trying to claw at Emily; Jared jumped forward and landed on the Demons back. The Demon hissed and growled but Jared stuck one of his swords into its back, however the creature managed to grab Jared by the back of his head and throw him onto the ground where his head smacked against the floor causing him to become unconscious.

# # #

Clara slowly sneaked out of her room and headed towards the library, Alfie was following her his watchful eyes always on the lookout for danger. She had her newly made sword sheathed on her back; it was definitely made for her as the weight of the sword was absolutely perfect.

She crept down the stairs and headed to the door which would lead her to the church above, however as soon as her hand was on the handle a voice sounded behind her.

"Where exactly do you think you're going"?

Clara spun around to see Professor Taylor standing by one of the many bookcases his gazing firmly on a book. Clara didn't answer as the Professor slowly looked at her with a surprising smile on his face.

"I'm going to go and help Professor" Clara answered firmly

"Oh I'm sure you would Clara, however I also fear that it would result in you getting seriously injured" The Professor replied calmly

"Look all of you wanted me to follow in my father's footsteps and when I want to go and fight Demons you suddenly say no" Clara said definitely

"Clara, Benjamin Collins was probably the greatest man I ever knew and I will not destroy his memory and his legacy by sending his daughter off to fight evil when she is not fully trained" The Professor responded firmly.

The Professor then moved over to a small table near the fire where a teapot stood. He poured himself a cup of tea and then poured another one which he held out for Clara, she hesitated for a minute before she walked over and took the cup from his hand; he then offered her and armchair by the fire which she accepted.

Once she had sat down Alfie rested his head on her lap. The Professor then took a seat opposite and gave her a small smile while she sipped her tea, Alfie's eyes moved between Clara and the Professor.

"Professor"

"Yes Clara"?

"When did you meet my father"? Clara asked

Professor Taylor sat back in his chair and seemed to stare into space; Clara guessed that he was reminiscing. She waited patiently as he sipped his tea and continued to stare blankly ahead of him.

"Professor" Clara repeated

"The year was Nineteen Eighty Eight; I first met your father on Liberty Island. I was hunting a level five demon when I ran into a fifteen year old teenager with a bad haircut and a bad attitude"

Clara smiled at that which caused Professor Taylor to give a tiny chuckle at the memory; he took another sip of his tea before he continued his story.

"He had second sight and saw the demon I was hunting, that was the night I hurt my leg hence the cane. He saved my life, he killed the Demon and in thanks I offered to train him as a Templar"

Clara smiled again at the story, she always thought her father was a good man he told her stories and raised her to be the girl she is today. However it was nice to have it confirmed by other people than just her mother.

The Professor opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted when the doors to the library burst open and Hugo ran in looking frantic.

"Hugo, what on earth is going on"? The Professor asked

"It's Emily she's been hurt" Hugo stuttered

Clara didn't know what had happened but she knew it couldn't be good, all four of them were covered in blood and all of them seemed to have some type of injury. But Emily was the worst; she had a massive claw mark right across her abdomen causing lots of blood to be dripping out of her torso.

Jared and Alex were carrying her; Jared had one hand on her stomach trying to stop the bleeding as much as he could.

"Set her down over here" The Professor ordered pointing to a table which he quickly cleared off all books and papers.

Jared and Alex both sat her down while the professor took of his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He ordered Hugo to get some clean water, told Alex to go and find some scissors and asked Clara to get some fresh towels.

"Emily hold on, please hold on" Jared begged kneeling down and holding her hand.

Clara returned a few minutes later with several clean towels; Jared was still holding her hand while the Professor was cutting away pieces of her shirt with the scissors Alex had provided to get a better look at the wound.

Hugo returned with a bowl full of water and placed on the table near the professor who began wetting a cloth in the water. Everybody watched and waited.

"Hugo quick my bag" The Professor said

Hugo went behind one of the many bookcases and returned a few seconds later with a massive black leather bag in his arms. He placed it down on the table next to water where the Professor immediately opened it and rummaged around pulling out many different glass bottles.

He sprinkled some kind of herb onto the wound causing Emily's eyes to widen and grip Jared's hand harder, but he didn't make a sound of pain. Clara wondered what kind of herbs could help with a gash across the torso and was surprised when she saw they seemed to dissolve into the wound.

The Professor then sprinkled some stone coloured power onto the wound and then mixed a few contents of bottles together and forced Emily to drink the whole concoction. Shortly after she slowly fell unconscious and the professor bandaged it before rolling down his sleeves and wiping the sweat off his brow.

"That's all I can do, the rest is in God's hands" The professor said gravely

One by one everybody left the library, Clara returned to her room followed by Alfie however she looked back before she closed the door and saw that Jared still kneeled by Emily his hand still holding hers.

Clara had to admit they made a cute couple before she closed the door and gave them some privacy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Clara was awoken a few hours later by her door bursting open; she sat up in shock as Alfie jumped from her bed and started growling. She squinted in the doorway to see Alex standing there, she wondered if he was here to hurt her as she knew he didn't like her one bit.

"The Professor wants to see you downstairs" he muttered before walking out of the room

Clara was confused at this but she still got out of bed and walked out her room and down the stairs into the library, Alfie followed at her heels as always.

When she reached the library she saw that Emily was still lying on the table, Jared seemed to be asleep as his head was lying on the table next to her. Clara noticed that Jared's hand was still clasped in Emily's, Clara quietly walked passed them and looked around to see where the Professor was.

There was no sign of him in the library and she wondered where he was, then a door on the east side of the room opened and Alex's head popped out of it. He gestured her over to him and she followed and exited into a small room full of different technological equipment.

There was radio, computers, phones and televisions. One television was on in the corner of the room and that is where Alex, Hugo and the Professor all stood. When they spotted her the Professor gestured her over and signalled for her to be quiet and pointed to the television.

The news was on the TV which caused Clara to be confused until the first story made her a little bit nervous.

_The Police still have no leads for the killing of at least thirty devil worshippers who were found dead in a warehouse in Brooklyn late last night. The Police have said that the people or persons involved must have been highly trained in medieval weapons such as swords, axes and bows and arrows. The Police have asked if anyone saw or heard anything then please get in contact._

_In other news still no leads into the disappearance of Jasmine Collins and her daughter Clara. Jasmine Collins was a nurse at the local hospital and has not been seen since her apartment was found destroyed. Police again ask for anyone who might have saw or heard anything to please come forward. _

Clara looked at everybody else in the room who were all staring at her, she had never thought about the Police looking for her and her mother and she understood by all of the grim faces around her that meant the secret of the Templars was in danger.

# # #

The bright lights of JFK airport guided the plane onto the runway, after a few minutes the plane came to halt and the doors to the plane opened and the passengers began to exit the aircraft.

A young man walked down the steps of the plane and headed to the main terminal, he wore a black suit and tie as well as black sunglasses. As he headed towards baggage he was met by a man who looked older but wore similar suit and glasses.

"Welcome back Tiberius" The man said

"Thank you Jinn, but I prefer to think that I've returned home" Tiberius replied

"Are you sure it's wise to come back here, the Templars are getting to close again last night they killed thirty worshippers last night" Jinn explained

"They do that, but relax the Templars will not stop us from acquiring the key"

Tiberius then picked up his luggage and headed to the exit, Jinn accompanied him the whole way. Once they exited the airport they waited until a black limo pulled up, both of them got into the back and the limo immediately sped off.

"Now one of the things we want to know is will you be able to get into the lair at all"? Jinn asked

"I doubt it, by now Professor Taylor has changed the ten digit lock code and since Demons can't step onto holy ground I would have to go alone" Tiberius answered

"I thought you were the best out of the Templars, except from the Professor of course" Jinn responded

"Don't forget Jared, me and him were both trained my Benjamin Collins so were equals in our training"

"Yes Collins, we got rid of him and now we have his daughter to deal with" Jinn spat

"She seems much more than you expected, otherwise the Diaboli's you sent would have been able to capture her" Tiberius said in a dry tone

"That boy Jared rescued her and took her back to the lair, it is wise to assume she is currently being trained as a Templar"

Tiberius just smiled and looked out of the limo window; he had to admit it was good to see the familiar streets of New York again. Some of his greatest memories were of being a Templar with Ben and Jared; however he understood that now he and Jared were enemies and nothing was going to change it.

# # #

"I'm sorry, I should of known this would of happened" The Professor said gravely turning off the television

"It's not your fault Professor, you couldn't have known" Alex replied

"No I should have, it's obvious that the Police would investigate Clara and her mother's disappearance"

Clara was sitting on the stool looking around the room which was full of different technological devices. Hugo had explained to her that he was trying to push the Templars into the future and try and get them out of their medieval ways.

"Look the Police won't find either of them, we should be focusing more on Tiberius not getting his hands on that key" Alex said

"Well I'm worried about Jared, I don't think he's going to react well to seeing Tiberius again" Hugo added

"Me too, Jared is already over the edge about Emily confronting Tiberius will most likely be too much for him" The Professor sighed

"But I thought you guys said Tiberius was one of the best Templars ever trained and the only one good enough to match him was Jared"? Clara said confused

Everybody nodded at that and looked disheartened and surprisingly defeated, however before anyone could say anything else the door opened and Jared walked in with relief on his face.

"Emily's awake" He said before exiting followed by Alex and the Professor

Clara quickly stopped Hugo from leaving; he looked puzzled at her actions but nonetheless stayed and waited for her to speak. She quickly made sure that nobody was going to walk in before speaking.

"Hugo, I just want to know is there something between Jared and Emily"?

"Oh no, there used to be something a couple of years ago but they stopped. There more like brother and sister these days" He informed smiling at her

"Oh I really thought they were together" Clara replied

"Why are you so interested"? Hugo asked his eyes twinkling with mischief

"No reason, just curious I guess" Clara answered

She then turned and led the way out of the room and into the library where everybody was gathered around the table where Emily was sitting up smiling. She spotted both of them and smiled, they returned their smiles and Hugo quickly gave her a small hug.

"It's good to have you back Em, you scared us for a while" Alex said smiling

"Not as much as me though" Emily muttered still holding her stomach

Everybody laughed, Alfie who had decided to lay down in front of the fire suddenly got up at the commotion and came over and proceeded to Emily who smiled and stroked him behind the ears.

"Good to see you too Alfie" She said smiling

"Well looks like God heard you Professor" Hugo added smiling

"Yes it looks like it's not your time yet Emily" The Professor said

"That's a relief" She replied causing everybody to laugh again

Clara looked at Jared who was sitting next to Emily with an arm around her shoulders, his eyes met hers and he gave a small smile and a nod of the head. Clara then somehow knew that tomorrow her training would resume.

# # #

Smoke floated through the room making quite difficult to see, however one person was visible sitting in a throne type chair. He wore a grey business suit and had oiled hair as well as brown reading glasses which were now being used as he was reading an old brown covered book.

However his eyes looked up as two men entered the room causing him to put his book down and put his hands together.

"Well I suppose a welcome home is in order" the man said sarcastically

"That will not be necessary" Tiberius replied

"Tiberius let me introduce you to Lord Gadreel" Jinn said

"It's okay Jinn, I know who he is" Tiberius answered placing a hand on his shoulder

"So Tiberius any idea where the key is"? Gadreel asked

"Well I know that the key was hidden by Benjamin Collins, however since he's dead we suspect his daughter knows"

Gadreel smashed his hand down on the arm of his chair which went straight through, he then stood up and made his way towards them. Tiberius stayed where he was but he noticed that black hooded figures had suddenly emerged from the smoke.

"I don't want your suspicions, the daughter is currently being trained as a Templar and we all know the Templars are good at meddling in our affairs"! Gadreel shouted his voice becoming deeper and louder with every word.

"Don't worry I'll get the key, the daughter must have it as the mother has already proven useless" Tiberius informed

"Yes I know, it's a wonder why a woman who possess second sight was never trained as a Templar" Gadreel replied

"I will not fail you" Tiberius said placing a hand on his chest and giving a little bow

"You better not Tiberius; you know that without this key Lord Satan cannot walk the earth"

"I know" Tiberius responded bowing his head

"Good" Gadreel whispered before he turned and walked back to the throne, however before he reached it he evaporated into black smoke along with all the black hooded figures.

Tiberius turned and exited followed by Jinn, he swore to the Devil himself that he would not fail in gaining possession of the key.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Clara yelled out in pain as Jared's wooden sword connected with her thigh, she growled at swung her own wooden sword at his head but he easily blocked it and sent the sword spiralling from her hand.

"Who trains like this anyway"? Clara demanded bending down to pick up her sword

"This is exactly the same way your father taught me" Jared informed causally swinging his sword in his hand.

Clara sighed at that, she knew that if she trained then she would finally be a Templar and she could go and find her mother. So far Alex and Hugo were the ones who were currently searching for her mother, sometimes Jared would accompany them but most of the time he stayed to train Clara and stay with Emily who was still resting due to her injury.

"I still can't imagine my dad being so heavy handed" Clara muttered

"Your father had the gentlest heart, but he also believed that the harder the training then the easier the real thing would be" Jared replied with a small smile

Clara couldn't help but smile at that, her father would probably have said something like that. She then gripped the hilt of her sword harder and gestured to Jared that she was ready to go again.

Jared raised his eyebrows and twirled his sword once again; Clara lunged at him trying to remember some of the moves he had taught her earlier. However Jared proved to be too good he dodged and countered every single attack she made, after she had hit the ground for at least the thirtieth time Jared finally decided to end the training session.

"Well Clara you are improving, soon you will be ready to become a full Templar" Jared explained

"What do I have to do to become a Templar"? Clara asked

"Well you will have to be knighted of course" Jared answered

"Wow really, does that mean I'll have to take an oath"?

"Yes, you will take the oath of the Knights Templar"

Jared then led the way out of the training room and into the library where the Professor sat in an armchair reading a book while Emily was drinking a cup of coffee in the chair opposite him. She groaned as she raised the cup to her lips, it was still difficult for her to move normally.

Clara and Jared both gave her a sympathetic smile, Jared then poured coffee for Clara and himself. They both took a sip of it while the professor slowly looked up and smiled on the three of them.

"Where are Alex and Hugo"? Clara asked

"They are out searching for your mother again" The Professor answered smiling

Clara had to admit Jared kept his promise, he had promised her that if she was to train as a Templar they would do everything they could to find her mother and so far they were doing as they promised.

"Do you have any thoughts of where she could be Professor"? She asked

"Well we know that Tiberius is after the key which he believes you possess, I suspect he had your mother taken to see if she knew it" The Professor replied

Clara nodded at that as the double doors of the library opened and Alex and Hugo entered looking tired. They both spotted Clara and slowly shook their heads showing that once again their search was unsuccessful, Clara couldn't help but feel a little bit saddened at that.

Jared noticed that she looked a bit crestfallen, he placed an arm around her shoulders and she was thankful for the comfort he was currently providing.

"Don't worry Clara, we will find her eventually" Jared said giving her shoulders a small squeeze.

Clara could only nod and put on a small smile, she only hoped that wherever her mom was she was safe and not in any kind of pain.

# # #

Jasmine Collins was lying on an old rusty bed, she was uncomfortable but she was not going to complain. She would not give any satisfaction to her captors; she looked around the small room she was in. The bed was the only piece of furniture in there, the walls were all stone bricks and the only source of light was a small candle sitting on the floor next to a box of matches.

She sighed as she looked at the small wooden door which was keeping her trapped, then just as she was thinking those thoughts she heard the door being unlocked from the other side and she immediately sat up.

The door opened to reveal a young man wearing a long black cloak; he had a sword sheathed on his back and long black hair which reached his shoulders. Her eyes narrowed at the person showing that she recognised him.

"Hello Jasmine, it's good to see you again" Tiberius said with a small smile

"How dare you speak to me like a friend, after what you did"! Jasmine yelled standing up and staring him straight in the face.

"I understand your anger, but Ben made his choice" Tiberius replied crossing his arms

"Yes he made his choice, he chose to hide the key from you and he made the right one" Jasmine spat

Tiberius just smiled and closed the door behind him, Jasmine had to admit she was a little bit frightened. This was the man who murdered her husband and took her daughters father away.

"You are nothing more than a murderer Tiberius, you will never find the key" She said in defiance

"You may not know where the key is Jasmine, but I am certain Ben told the location of it to Clara and when I find Clara I will do whatever is necessary to pry the information from her" Tiberius snarled

"You know as well as I do Tiberius the Professor and Jared will teach her to be a Templar and when she is fully trained she will be as good as father was" Jasmine answered with a small smile defiant smile

"They can train her all they want, I will get the information from her even if I have to cut your throat to do it" Tiberius shouted before he exited the room

# # #

Clara was reading the fourth book of the day; she was trying to read up on as much history of the Templars as she could. She wanted to know all the legends, all the myths and more importantly everything that is connected to the Templars.

For example the Professor had told her that the Templars in Britain, USA, Russia and France all banded together to fight an extremely powerful Demon named Adolf Hitler. The Human world remembers this conflict as World War II obviously but all the Templars and people who know about our world know it as the first ever Demon war which lasted for five years.

She was scared as the professor also told her his belief that a second Demon war will eventually happen and all the Templars will have to untie again.

But there was one legend that interested her, there is a Templar prophecy that says that one day a Templar will possess powers given by God and will use those powers to fight the Dark Lord Satan and send him back to hell. The Templar will be known as the Chosen One, the one God will choose to protect his Earth against Satan.

For some reason reading that legend sent chills down Clara's back, she slowly rubbed her arms trying to warm them up. Then a red blanket was put around her and she looked up to see Jared standing over her with a small smile on his face.

"You looked cold" Jared whispered

"Thank you" She replied as he moved around her and sat in the chair next to her at the table where she was reading

He pulled the book she was reading closer to him and as he read his eyes surprisingly narrowed and his smiled disappeared. He then pushed the book away and looked at Clara with a sad and angry look.

"Clara please be careful when reading this stuff" he pleaded

"What do you mean"? She asked puzzled

"The prophecy of the chosen one was all Tiberius used to talk about, he always wanted to be the one this is what started him on his search for power; this is what made him kill your father" Jared explained

Clara was shocked at that, did he think that she was going to crave power like Tiberius did. That thought scared her; she placed a hand on his causing his eyes to meet hers.

"Jared, you must know that I don't care about power I only care about having my mother safe" she whispered

"I know, I'm sorry it's just that me and Tiberius were like brothers and it was heart breaking to see him fall to evil" Jared sighed staring into space.

Clara still had her hand on his and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him, after all the things the Professor had told her about her father she knew that Jared and Tiberius were the best of friends who both looked up to her father.

"I understand how hard it is for you Jared, but one thing I've learnt in the last few days is that you are dedicated to your duty as a Templar; obviously Tiberius wasn't as dedicated" Clara said gently

Jared nodded in response; they both sat there in silence for a few minutes until the Professor emerged from of the many doors around the library and walked straight to where they sat.

"Clara, I need to know do you have a friend who you are completely honest with"? The Professor asked surprising her

"Erm only Sebastian why"?

"Because I fear Demons may go after him" The professor answered gravely

"What, why would they do that"? Clara asked desperately

"Because they might think that you told him where the key is"

Clara looked from the Professor to Jared; both of them looked worried about this revelation. It should have been obvious that they would go after Sebastian after all he was her best friend.

"So what do we do"? She asked looking at the pair of them

"There's only one thing we can do, we have to go and get him" Jared answered placing a hand on her shoulder

The professor looked like a bit worried at that but didn't say anything about it, Jared then told her to suit up while he went and got the rest of the group. As she readied herself she couldn't help but worry about Sebastian and she would do anything she could to protect him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Sebastian was typing away on his computer it was getting dark now and he had just spent another day searching for Clara, he had not heard from her since she called him the day her and her mom went missing.

The Police had no leads whatsoever which made him worry for her safety even more; he couldn't imagine anyone hurting her. Anyone could of her abducted her, one of the thoughts that kept popping into his head was that she had been taken by a sex trafficker.

He quickly shook that thought of his mind, Clara was alive and okay he was going to find her if it was the last thing he'd do. He heard the doorbell from downstairs and then heard a male voice talking to his mother; he carried on typing up more missing person posters for Clara and her mother.

However soon he heard his mom calling for him, he exited his bedroom and headed down the stairs towards the front door where a bald headed man wearing a suit stood. Sebastian assumed he was either a police detective or a news reporter; both had been dropping in at the house most of the week.

"Sebastian Cooper"? The man asked in a deep voice

"Yes"

"I'm Doctor Thomas Russell, I worked with Jasmine Collins"

"Nice to meet you Doctor, please come in" Sebastian said suspiciously

Doctor Russell stepped in and Sebastian invited him upstairs, his mom watched them go and sighed she was worried for Clara she was a sweet girl and she hoped she was found soon.

# # #

Sebastian entered his room followed by Doctor Russell; he took a seat on his bed and faced the visitor.

"Now Doctor, why are you here"? Sebastian asked

"The day before Jasmine disappeared she came to me and said that her late husband had given her daughter Clara a key, now both of them have gone missing I wanted to know if you had any idea where the key is"?

"I'm sorry Doctor, but Clara never mentioned any key" Sebastian answered truthfully

Doctor Russell seemed disappointed in that which caused Sebastian to become suspicious, the Doctor then began looking around the room casually his eyes lingered on his cluttered desk the longest.

"Do you think the key has something to do with her disappearance"?

"I'm not sure, but it could be Jasmine seemed really nervous"

Sebastian then heard his mother shout that her and his father were going out for dinner, he quickly shouted back his okay and turned his attention back to the Doctor who still seemed to be scoping out the room.

"Doctor Russell, I don't have this key but do you think it's really important"? He asked

"Oh trust me Sebastian, it's definitely important" The Doctor answered

Sebastian then heard a strange type of growling sound; he looked around for the source and noticed the Doctor seemed to be oozing a black smoke from his torso. The Doctor began laughing and suddenly he moved down so he was on all fours and before Sebastian's eyes he turned into a huge black dog like creature.

Sebastian screamed and started crawling back towards his window; the dog began sniffing and then began growling. He slowly started moving towards Sebastian its yellow teeth showing and drool began hanging from its jaw.

"What the hell are you"! Sebastian yelled

The dog didn't answer it just growled and moved even closer, however just as it looked set to pounce on Sebastian a young teenager came through his window causing him to jump. The person landed on the floor and immediately drew two short swords from sheath on the back of the black leather jacket he was wearing

"Sebastian, are you okay"? The person asked

"Who are you"? Sebastian responded shocked

"Name's Jared, I'll explain everything afterwards"

Jared faced the dog and slowly moved near it jabbing one of his swords at it, Sebastian heard footsteps echoing up the stairs and three people burst into the room. There was two boys and one girl, they all looked the about the same age and all were wearing black except for one boy who was wearing a green trench coat.

Sebastian received another shock when a familiar faced girl climbed in through the window; she smiled when she saw him and instantly wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Sebastian, it's so good to see you" Clara exclaimed even though it had only been a few days

"Clara, is it really you" Sebastian whispered looking at her face

His eyes then turned back to the huge dog creature in the middle of his room, he looked at the other four people and then looked at Clara obviously lost for words.

"Clara what is that thing"?

"Erm, Jared what is that thing"? Clara asked

"It's an Infernum Canem" Jared answered still trying to jab at it with his swords

"What"?

"It's a hell hound"

Jared then slashed at its face with his sword causing a huge gash in its cheek. Alex then moved to hit it with his axe but he was hit by the hound's tail in his face causing him to stumble back.

The Hound then jumped at Jared causing both of them to fall out of the window, Clara and Emily both screamed and ran to the window to see Jared lying on the lawn of the house trying to crawl to his swords while the Hound slowly approached him.

"Jared watch out"! Emily shouted

Alex then told them to move before he jumped out of the window and landed on his feet in front of the hound. The Hound growled and tried to claw at Alex but he dodged it and swung his axe cutting the Hound's leg.

Hugo and Emily ran out of the room and down the stairs where they emerged outside where Emily fired an arrow at the Hound which narrowly missed.

"Clara who are these guys"? Sebastian asked desperately trying to make sense of everything

"Well one thing's for certain, you definitely have second sight" Clara muttered as she anxiously watched the group below her fight a hell hound.

"Clara what is going on, where did you go"?

"Later Bas, right now we have to help them" Clara said running out of the room followed by Sebastian who had no idea what was happening.

# # #

The Statue of Liberty stood monumental as she welcomed the many different boats entering New York. Professor Taylor stood at her feet gazing up at her face, he was remembering the first time he met Ben on this island and had to give a small smile at memories of his old friend.

He then heard movement and saw a dark cloaked figure emerge from the shadows and stop in front of him.

"It's good to see you again Professor" Tiberius said removing his hood to see better

"You have a nerve contacting me like this" The Professor replied his grip on his cane tightening

"Don't worry Professor, you will not be harmed this is a warning for my old friend and mentor" Tiberius said nodding his head

"What could you possibly want to warn me about"? The Professor asked suspiciously

"Gadreel has returned, he will not rest until he has the key" Tiberius informed

"I don't have it Tiberius, Ben didn't even tell me where he hid it" The professor growled

Tiberius sighed and seemed like he was disappointed in receiving that information, he looked at the Statue and couldn't help but smile at Ben's success at hiding the key from everybody; even his friends.

"Well then Tiberius, I suggest that if you don't want to see Jared and the others brutally killed you discover where Ben hid the key and give it to Gadreel"

"Do you really think you can get me to give Gadreel the key, we both know exactly what that key unlocks" The Professor snarled

"Look it's going to happen eventually without the key, but the key is easier and faster which means that Gadreel will do everything in his power to acquire it" Tiberius responded

"I will not betray my oath like you did yours Tiberius, now go before your master wonders where you got to"

Tiberius was still not used to seeing the Professor this angry, however he simply nodded and turned away slowly fading away in the shadows wondering if the Professor will find the key and wondering if he will consider breaking his oath.

# # #

The Hound growled as the group attempted to battle it, Clara was hanging back with Sebastian. She noticed that Jared had a large cut on his shoulder which was caused by one of the hound's claws.

He seemed unconcerned about this and simply continued slashing at it with his sword. Clara wanted to help but she didn't know how, she had her sword but she didn't think it would be any use.

Then she saw something, she noticed a hose on the lawn and suddenly she got a crazy idea which might just work. She told Sebastian to get the house and asked Jared if he knew how to bless water, he looked at her like she gone mad until she gestured to the hose and he suddenly smiled.

"Emily, Alex, Hugo keep the hound from getting to us" Jared ordered

He then ran over to Clara and snatched the hose from Sebastian's hand, he then pointed the hose at hound and told Sebastian to wait for his signal then turn it on.

"Christ gives us the power to conquer Demons so I bless this water in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit" Jared whispered

He then told Emily, Alex and Hugo to get out of the way and told Sebastian to turn the water on. As soon as he water hit the Hell Hound it screamed like it was being burnt, he then told Emily to shoot it.

The arrow hit the hound and it screamed even louder, it then hit the ground where it slowly evaporated into smoke.

"Good work Clara" Jared said smiling at her

"Can somebody please tell me what's going on"! Sebastian yelled

"Okay Bas, it's a long story so I suggest you come with us and we'll tell you everything" Clara said gently prepared

Sebastian slowly nodded and together the group all got back in their vehicles and headed back to the lair.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

_Tiberius and Jared laughed as their swords clanged together; they loved practicing sword fighting as they were both now so good at it that most sessions ended in a tie. Ben smiled at his two pupils who he had watched grow since they were six and nine, now they were both teenagers and he knew one day they would both be great men. _

_Jared then disarmed Tiberius and then with surprising strength he pushed the older boy by three years onto the floor and pointed his own sword at his neck._

"_Seems you win Jared" Tiberius said smiling_

"_Seems he does, now boys remember no hunting tonight" Ben warned walking over to them_

"_We know, but we still don't agree" Jared mumbled in reply_

"_Yeah we can't we go, were Templars hunting Demons is what we do"! Tiberius protested _

"_You know why, there are Demons waiting to ambush us out there and until there gone we will have to stay on Hallowed ground" Ben informed sternly _

"_Why can't we deal with them"? Tiberius demanded pointing at Jared and himself_

"_Because you two have never faced Demons like this before, leave them for the Professor and me to deal with" Ben ordered_

"_Yes Ben" Jared sighed_

_Ben then exited the training room while Jared and Tiberius remained and sat down on the ground with their backs against the wall. Tiberius then pulled a book out from his trouser pocket and began reading. _

"_You know the Professor doesn't like it when you take books out of the Library" Jared said with a grin _

"_But this is the legend of the chosen one, as Templars we have the right to learn all we can from it" Tiberius explained with a hungry look on his face. _

"_I thought Ben told you to drop it, he said it was dangerous" Jared replied warningly _

"_Ben is just overprotective, you know I heard him telling the Professor that he doesn't want his daughter to realise she has second sight that way he won't have to train her as a Templar" Tiberius informed_

"_Why wouldn't he want his daughter trained as a Templar"? Jared asked confused _

"_Because he thinks the life is too dangerous for her but I don't care me, you and Alex are the students not his daughter" Tiberius muttered bitterly _

"_Oh come on, who knows she might make a good Templar" Jared responded shrugging his shoulders_

"_Why do you always get soft when a girl's involved"? Tiberius chuckled punching his arm _

"_She's only a year younger than me" Jared said_

"_But she's Ben's daughter and plus you haven't even seen her" Tiberius whispered_

_Jared then looked away and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, Tiberius watched him suspiciously. Jared looked at him with a small strained smile which caused Tiberius to open his eyes wide in shock._

"_You've been spying on Ben's daughter"! He yelled_

"_Ssh, no not spying I've just seen her a few times that's all" Jared whispered furiously _

"_Jared you went to Ben's house to see his daughter, that's spying" Tiberius retorted _

"_Fine then I spied, but she's beautiful Tiberius" Jared moaned _

"_Oh please don't tell me you're falling for her"? _

"_Well would that be such a bad thing"?_

"_Yes it would, you're a Templar Jared we can't have normal lives; we fight Demons that's it no families and no relationships" Tiberius spat_

"_Ben has a family" Jared snapped_

"_Yes that's Ben, the rest of us won't be able to do both in the end we would have to choose" Tiberius said gently_

_Jared nodded and dropped his head; Tiberius put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. Jared was like a little brother to him which meant it was technically his job to give him advice; however he understood how hard it was for him. _

"_Now promise me you won't spy on her again" Tiberius ordered_

"_But I couldn't sometimes go and visit"? Jared asked _

"_No Jared, you can never see her again it would be too painful for you"_

"_Okay I promise"_

# # #

Tiberius swung his sword around the room with so much power the ring from the blade lasted for at least ten seconds. He was completely naked, he hadn't trained like this in a while but now that he was enemies with his former friend he knew he had to train as hard as he could to be able to defeat him.

His muscles flexed as he practiced yet another move, he remembered being taught it by Ben. His memories of convincing Jared not to see Clara again still hurt him, he was afraid to admit to himself but the reason he did it was not for Jared it was for himself.

He didn't want Jared to fall in love with a girl because he was afraid that Jared would of left the Templars and of course leave him. However he had been right Jared would have never been able to live happily ever after with a girl while being a Templar, people like that are just not meant to have normal lives.

There was then a knock at his bedroom door which caused him to sigh, he told the person to come in and the door slowly opened to reveal Jinn.

"What do you want Jinn"? Tiberius demanded turning around to face him

Jinn turned his eyes away from Tiberius's manhood and began looking at the wall. Tiberius a little chuckle for putting on some trouser which were on his bed.

"The attack on Sebastian Cooper was thwarted by Jared and his group, now they've taken him back to the lair"

To Jinn's surprise Tiberius laughed, he stood up and pulled out a fresh T-shirt out of a trunk at the bottom of his bed.

"What exactly is funny"? Jinn asked puzzled

"Jared has grown into an amazing Templar" Tiberius answered

"You're admiring him now"?

"One thing I always learnt Jinn is always respect your enemy" Tiberius informed

Jinn shook his head in disbelief; Tiberius then picked up his sword and placed it back into his sheath.

"I don't think it will be funny when Gadreel finds out, he's displeased already" Jinn said worryingly

"Let me worry about Gadreel, I promised him the key and I will get the key" Tiberius replied firmly

"How are we going to find the key when all our leads are with the Templars"? Jinn demanded

"Trust me Jinn, I have a few tricks up my sleeve" Tiberius answered smiling

# # #

Jared put in the digit code causing the huge golden circular door to open, Sebastian's eyes opened wide as the door slowly opened. They walked down the passage way until they reached the double doors which opened to reveal the magnificent library.

Sebastian looked really lost but Clara couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face, she stopped when he looked at her and offered him a seat on one of the comfortable armchairs by the fire.

"Where's the professor"? Alex asked as he looked around the library

"I'll go look for him" said Hugo and exited through one of many doors

Jared sat on the long table and took off his shirt which caused Clara and Emily to blush; this was not missed by Sebastian whose eyes surprisingly narrowed. Jared gasped as his hand found the huge claw mark which the hellhound had left on his shoulder.

Emily disappeared and returned a few minutes later carrying a bowl of water with a cloth in it and a roll of bandages. She asked Alex to go and get some needle and thread which he returned with in only a few minutes.

"Now Clara please tell me what's going on"? Sebastian asked desperately

"Okay Sebastian this might be difficult to believe at first, but everything I'm going to tell you is true" Clara explained

Sebastian only nodded and encouraged her to continue, Clara glanced at Jared who was still sitting on the table while Emily sowed the cut on his shoulder together. He nodded at her and she gave a small smile in return.

"Okay Sebastian, this is the lair and it's the home of the Knights Templar" Clara said quickly

Sebastian opened his mouth in shock, Clara's knew that Sebastian was a history buff and knew about the Knights Templars but he couldn't believe they still existed. He didn't say anything for several minutes; finally his mouth began to slowly to move.

"The Knights Templar" He repeated

He then looked over at Jared, Emily and Alex who gave him a cocky wave. He then turned back to Clara who slowly nodded. He gave a nervous laugh and looked around the library and gave a huge sigh.

"Okay so if the Knights Templar exists, what do they do"?

"We protect the Human world from Demons" Jared said as Emily continued to sew up his wound.

"Demons, really"?

"Yes you saw one of them tonight" Emily answered

Sebastian surprisingly gave a small smile to her, then looked back at Clara and accepted that nobody was going to suddenly shout surprise.

"Okay so if the Templars exist and that thing was a Demon, why did you and mom go missing"? He asked

Clara told him all about how Jared saved her, Sebastian surprisingly gave Jared a dark look at that point quickly turned away as Jared stretched and flexed his muscles causing both him and Alex to grin.

Clara then explained about how her father was a Templar and how Tiberius who was one of his students had murdered him, she explained that her mother had been taken because of a key.

That caused Sebastian to hurriedly tell them about how the hound was disguised as a human and that it asked for a key. That revelation meant a lot to the group as it meant they were right about what the enemy wanted but that also meant they had to find the key as well.

Hugo then suddenly burst in from the double doors causing everyone to jump and look at him puzzled. He was white as a sheet and had a look of horror on his face, Jared jumped down from the table and put his shirt back on.

"Hugo, what's wrong"? Jared asked

"Were in trouble" was all he said


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve 

Everybody quickly got up and followed Hugo out of the room, Clara stalled at the door as she noticed that Simon hadn't moved. A shadow moved out from behind one of the armchairs and Clara realised it was Alfie, she felt a bit guilty because with everything that was going on she had been forgetting about Alfie.

Alfie nudged his nose on Sebastian's leg; he still looked shocked about everything he just heard. Clara understood though it happened to her the first time as well.

Clara moved over and slowly placed a hand on top of Sebastian's, his eyes met hers and he gave a small smile. She returned with one of her own as she knew that she and Sebastian would always be best friends.

She gestured for him to take her hand and come with her, he hesitates for a second before he takes it and together they leave the library followed by Alfie.

# # #

The whole group exits the church and enters the grounds; the cemetery was eerily quiet as usual however there was still the sound of New York traffic echoing around. The moon was shining directly on the church which meant the people who were standing on the sidewalk just out of reach of the churches boundaries was Tiberius.

He wasn't alone however, many different Demons stood behind him carefully trying to keep away from the boundaries of hallowed ground.

Clara and Sebastian arrived outside just in time to see Jared point the sword he had brought with him straight at Tiberius who didn't seem afraid at all, he did nothing but merely smile at his former friend.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here" Jared growled

"Come on Jared, is that a way to welcome an old friend home" Tiberius replied with mock hurt

"This is not your home and the friend I knew died the same time he betrayed us" Jared responded surprisingly calm

Tiberius's eyes darkened before he turned to his attention to Clara, she looks straight into the eyes of the man who murdered her father. She hated the sight of him, the way he looked at her in a cocky manner made her absolutely disgusted, Alfie moved in front of her and began growling at Tiberius sensing who he was.

"This must be Clara" He says

"Yes I am" Clara snarls

"You have your father's eyes" he replies with a small smile

Clara's eyes widened in shock and anger, she suddenly found herself running towards him but was stopped by a strong arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her to the side. She looked up to see Jared pushing her back with one hand while still pointing his sword at Tiberius with the other, Clara glared at him for a moment but Jared wasn't paying her any attention.

"How dare you mention Ben to her" Jared snarled his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword.

"Ben was my mentor as well Jared, I have the right" Tiberius replied his voice rising now

"You gave up your right to talk about him when you murdered him in cold blood"! Jared spat

"Ben made his choice, now I see you've made yours" Tiberius snapped

"I made the choice the to keep my oath, unlike you"

Tiberius literally growled at that and drew his sword from the sheath on his back; Jared gripped his sword even harder. Tiberius then stepped into the church ground's completely alone as the Demons cannot cross onto holy ground, however this did not seem to bother Tiberius at all.

"Your problem Jared was that you always believed in childish dreams, you still believe the Templars will always be there to protect humanity"

"That's because we will be Tiberius" Jared answered taking a step closer to him

"You really think Satan won't walk the Earth again, a war is coming Jared and this time it will be the end of the Templars"

"Enough"! Jared yelled lunging at Jared causing their swords to clang together

Tiberius's eyes darkened and his face turned into a look of fury, he swung his sword at Jared's head who only just managed to block it in time with his own. Jared then lunged at him again but Tiberius easily blocked it, he then punched Jared in the face causing him to stumble back.

Jared shook his head and quickly charged back at Tiberius who had his sword raised; sparks flew as both of their swords connected together. Clara noticed that both of them seemed equal in their sword fighting, she definitely saw they had the same style.

The fight was even both of them were able to get hit punches and kicks at each other causing some minor injuries for the both of them. Clara watched in silence, she was fighting the urge to join in and help Jared but she thought he would probably kill her himself.

Jared looked like he had finally gotten the upper hand when he elbowed Tiberius straight in the nose causing blood to splatter down his face and land on his back. Jared then pointed his sword at Tiberius's throat, he still wore a look of anger on his face and his hands seemed to be trembling; Clara guessed it was due to adrenalin.

Tiberius surprisingly was smiling, not one bit of fear showed in his face. This shocked Clara as she always thought everyone was scared when a sword was pointing at their throat, however Clara was more afraid on the look on Jared's face she didn't know what he was thinking but she knew it couldn't be good.

"Go ahead Jared, finish it" Tiberius sneered

"You deserve it" Jared whispers furiously

"Yes I do, now go on do it"! Tiberius demanded opening his arms wide encouraging him to strike

Jared raised his sword, however something moved out of the corner of Clara's eye. She looked up at the tall structure of the church and saw a figure completely dressed in black just above the whole group waiting to pounce.

"Jared"! She yelled

Jared looked at her with a puzzled look, however that distraction was what Tiberius needed. He pulled a small dagger from his cloak and before Jared could react he stuck in his side causing him to yell out in pain and hit the floor.

Clara and Emily screamed while Alex responds by drawing his sword and stepping towards Tiberius, however the figure finally drops down and as Alex swings his sword at him Tiberius manages to punch him in the side of the face sending him sprawling into the dirt.

The figure is obviously human otherwise it wouldn't be able to stand on the hallowed ground of the church. Hugo and Emily step forward, however none of them brought their weapons and which means they are forced to fight unarmed only.

Alex managed to stagger back to his feet and point his sword from the figure to Tiberius trying to decide which one to attack first. Tiberius picked up his sword from the ground and waved it in front of Alex like he was inviting him to attack.

"What do you say Alex, fancy a go"? He asked with a smirk

Alex gave a small smile and started moving towards him, the figure slowly slunk back behind where Tiberius stood and watched as Alex quickly lunged at Tiberius who easily blocked it. Clara quickly made her way over to Jared who was lying on the ground holding his side, Clara plenty of blood gushing through his finger and she immediately tried her best to put pressure on the wound.

Emily soon joined her and Clara could tell by looking in her tear filled eyes she was trying to pay Jared back for what he had done for her when she was injured. Jared's face showed his pain, he was desperately looking at Alex and Tiberius fighting and Clara knew he so much wanted to help.

"Stop"! A voice suddenly shouted

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked for the source of the voice; Clara found it first and literally sighed in relief as Professor Taylor came walking calmly through the many headstones of the graveyard.

Sebastian however looked stunned, Clara had mentioned on the way to the lair that the Professor had something to do with the group but I'm guessing he had never believed it until now. Tiberius on the other hand was smiling while Alex was looking a little relieved.

The Professor put a hand on Alex's shoulder who instantly took a step away from Tiberius sheathing his sword. The Professor then looked over to where Clara and Emily were knelt over a wounded Jared who had now scrunched up his eyes due to the pain.

"How is he"? The Professor asked

"Not good" Emily replied

The Professor nodded solemnly and turned back to Tiberius who still wore a small smirk on his lips, the Professor then glared at him and Clara could see his grip tightening on his cane.

"Get out of here Tiberius, take your creatures and leave" The Professor ordered

"We will find the key Professor, Satan will rise"

"Away with you"! The Professor bellowed

Tiberius gave a mock wave of goodbye and then stepped onto the street and disappeared into the shadows along with the demons and the black figure. The Professor stood silent for a few seconds before he ordered Jared to be carried into the lair.

# # #

"Put him on the table"

Jared was placed on the table in the library by Alex and Hugo, everybody stood there watching him as he groaned in pain. The Professor retrieved all the items he had used to help Emily and then ordered everybody out of the library, Clara has to be led away by Sebastian who was still trying to handle his shock at being dragged into this world but at the moment he knew Clara was upset about Jared and put a caring arm around her shoulder as they walked up to her room where she slowly opened the door and entered.

Clara moved straight to her bed and sat down on it, Alfie who had followed them in placed his head in her lap sensing her mood. Sebastian sits down next to her and slowly puts an arm around her shoulders once again.

"He will be alright Clara" Sebastian reassured even though he didn't know it himself

"I don't know Sebastian, my distraction got him stabbed" Clara admitted

"You were only trying to warn him" Sebastian replied gently

Clara nodded at that and then finally broke down in tears, Sebastian pulled her closer in towards him and she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. He started whispering that everything was going to be okay but before she even had a chance to believe him the bedroom door burst open and Alex strode right in.

"Proud of yourself are you"! He shouted

"What"? Clara asked stunned

"You nearly got Jared killed"!

"I was only trying to warn him" Clara protested

"Yeah and a fat lot of good that did" Alex growled

Sebastian stood up and stared Alex straight in the face, Alex just looked at him however Sebastian would not back down from his stare. Alfie was growling and barking but Alex ignored him completely.

"Don't talk to her like that"! Sebastian yelled

"Back off specs before I ram my fist down your throat" Alex growled

Clara jumped off her bed and stood in between the two boys who were glaring at each other, Emily and Hugo both ran into the room wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Alex that's enough" Emily said pulling on his arm

Alex turned and started heading towards the door, however just as he reached the doorway he turned back and pointed his finger straight at Clara.

"You will never be one of us, you're an insult to your father's memory" he snarled before walking out of the room

Clara began crying as everybody looked at her with stunned looks; Sebastian quickly wrapped his arms around her again while Emily stormed out of the room followed by Hugo. A few minutes later they could hear Alex and Emily shouting at one another, Sebastian closed the door to block out the sound.

"He's upset, he probably didn't mean it" Sebastian muttered

"Oh he meant it alright" Clara snapped through the tears

"Hey come on Clara, it wasn't your fault"

"Bas please just leave me alone" Clara said

"Clara you don't need to be alone right now not when you're upset like this" Sebastian pleaded

"Just get out"! Clara shouted

Sebastian looked like he had been slapped in the face; he bowed his head and muttered something which Clara didn't catch. He then opened the door and looked at her one more time before closing the door behind him.

Clara stood where she was for a few minutes then in she finally ran and jumped on her bed where she let the rest of the tears come pouring out. Everything from the past few days, the attacks, her mother missing, Jared's injury and Alex's outburst she was crying for all of it and she didn't know when she was going to stop.


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning: One use of strong language **

Chapter Thirteen

Jared groaned and slowly opened his eyes; he saw that he was staring at the ceiling of the library. Before he could wonder what on earth he was doing laying there a sharp pain erupted in his side causing him to gasp. Everything then came back to him, fighting with Tiberius which resulted in him getting stabbed.

He looked down to see that he no shirt on but had at least two layers of bandage firmly wrapped around his torso and he immediately knew it was the Professor's keen skills once again.

"Jared" a voice whispered

Jared looked over and saw Emily sitting in one of the armchairs, Alex stood beside her while Hugo sat in the opposite chair and The Professor stood in front of the roaring fire. Jared gave a small smile attempted to sit up but was met with more pain causing him to lie back down.

"I'm afraid you won't be moving anywhere yet, you nearly died" The Professor informed

"I would never have guessed" Jared muttered causing everyone to laugh

He then turned his face and looked at the small group, they were his family and he was so happy they were there to watch his back. He was also very thankful they had the Professor as he seemed to have saved everyone in the library at least once. However as Jared looked at the group he realised one person was missing.

"Where's Clara"?

Everybody quickly glanced at Alex who had crossed his arms and was now scowling; Jared was confused at this and was even more puzzled when Sebastian entered the library alone.

"Ask Alex" Emily said glaring at him

"Alex"?

"She's in her room sulking" Alex mumbled

"Why is she sulking"?

"Because idiot here blamed her for you getting stabbed" Hugo said nodding at Alex

"Oh tell me you didn't" Jared pleaded looking at Alex

"Oh he did" Emily answered

Jared sighed and looked back up at the ceiling; he wished he had enough strength to get off the hard table he was lying on and go upstairs to prove to Clara that he is alright. He looked over at Sebastian who was glaring at Alex.

"You better stop staring at me like that Specs" Alex warned turning to face Sebastian

"Or what"? Sebastian replied defensively pushing his glasses further up his nose

"You don't want to know" Alex snarled taking a step forward

Emily automatically jumped up and started pushing Alex away, Hugo had a hand on Sebastian's shoulder but them both carried on shouting insults at each other.

"Enough"! The Professor bellowed stamping his cane on the floor

Everybody froze at his voice, the Professor rarely shouted but when he did everybody heard and obeyed. He slowly let out a sigh and looked at each of them individually, his eyes found Jared last and he could see a hint of sadness in the old man's eyes.

"Sebastian, please go to Clara and ask her to join us" The Professor said calmly

Sebastian only nodded and left the library to carry out the Professor's request, everyone was silent for a minute. Alex was still breathing heavily but wasn't saying anything; finally it was Jared who broke the silence.

"Where were you tonight Professor"? He asked

"I was meeting somebody I used to know, I was trying to find more information on the key" The Professor explained

Jared had a feeling that the Professor wasn't be truthful, nonetheless he nodded in reply causing the library to drop back into awkward silence. However the silence didn't last long as Sebastian came running down the stairs and tripped on the last one causing him to land face first on the carpet.

Alex roared with laughter but stopped as soon as he saw everybody else was glaring at him, Hugo offered a hand to Sebastian who took it and helped pull him up.

"What is the matter Sebastian"? The Professor asked

"She's gone"! He exclaimed

Everybody looked stunned at that, Jared felt something drop inside of him. He attempted to sit up again but had to fall back as his side hurt again, he wished he was fine it was because of him being injured why she had run away.

"What do you mean"? Alex demanded

"I mean she's fucking gone" Sebastian shouted

The Professor told everyone to be quiet and turned to the fire, everyone watched him desperate for an answer. He stood with his back of them for at least two minutes causing everyone to become desperate.

"Professor" Sebastian pleaded

"Search parties immediately" He ordered turning round

"Okay, who's going with whom"? Emily asked

"Emily and Alex, Hugo and Sebastian"

"What about me"? Jared asked as he finally managed to sit up but growled as pain exploded all over again.

"You are to stay here Jared, you're in no condition to go anywhere" The Professor replied

"With all due respect Professor, I'm going out to look for her no matter what you say" Jared responded determined jumping down onto the floor where he gave another gasp of pain.

"Jared I must put my foot down, you will eventually feel too weak if you walk" The Professor informed gravely

"Looks like I'll be feeling weak then" Jared answered picking up his shirt from the table where it had been stuffed under his head as pillow and putting it back on

"Jared don't be stupid, you can't go anywhere" Alex said

"Don't talk to me Alex, you're the one that had a go at her you never think about the consequences of your actions" Jared replied slowly moving over to where his leather jacket sat on the arm of a chair.

"Oh come on Jared" Alex mumbled looking like had been slapped

"No Alex, I've defended you in the past but now it's different. Clara is one of us and if you can't accept that then maybe you're not made to be a Templar after all" Jared responded

Alex's eyes open in shock and then charged across the room where he swung fist which connected with Jared's cheek sending him into a small table by the chair which he gripped onto for dear life.

"Alex, what the hell are you doing"! Emily yelled

However before anyone could say anything else Jared quickly stood up and with all his might smacked Alex hard in the jaw causing him to hit the floor. Jared then pressed a hand to his side and collapsed against the table again breathing hard, he watched Alex as he slowly raised himself from the floor a small line of blood was running from his lip.

He was glaring at Jared with such anger in his eyes; he stormed over to the double doors of the library followed by Emily who looked scared. When Alex's hand touched the doorknob he suddenly turned back and faced Jared once again.

"You know Jared you're like a brother to me; I've been by your side ever since we were nine years old. We were both trained together and stood by you when every you were down, I comforted you whenever you were upset and I comforted you when Tiberius betrayed us" Alex shouted

"Yes, but then you go and throw all that away by forcing another Templar to run away" Jared argued

"Why can't you see it from my point of view"! Alex demanded while everybody else continued watching in silence

"Your point of view, Alex she wasn't to blame for me getting stabbed she was only trying to warn me" Jared snapped back

"Enough Jared, you're only defending her because you have feelings for her; you've had them since you were fourteen"!

"Alex don't you dare make this about her" Jared snarled standing up as straight as he could

"Jared this about her"! Alex exclaimed

Jared just slammed his fist on the table and glared at Alex, everybody was stunned at these two friends shouting each other like they hated each other. The Professor finally stepped, after all he was like a father to the pair of them.

"That's enough both of you" He yelled

"It's nowhere near enough" Alex growled

"Maybe you would like to settle this with a sword in your hand" Jared challenged his hands curling up into fists.

"I said that's enough, I don't want to see you both turn from friends into enemies like I had to with Tiberius" The Professor screamed

"Fine, everybody take Jared's side I'm used to that anyway" Alex spat

"The way you're acting you don't deserve to be a Templar" Jared shouted

"Enough, now everyone go and look for Clara" The Professor commanded sternly

Alex sighed and opened the double doors, however before he exited he looked back and pointed a finger at Jared whose eyes narrowed at the gesture.

"You will never be Ben" He said before leaving


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"We've been at this for hours, there's no sign of her anywhere"! Alex moaned

Emily sighed as her and Alex walked through Central Park, they had searched most of the city and still no sign of Clara anywhere. Hugo and Sebastian had already searched her apartment and also her old school but she still had not been found.

"We wouldn't be out here if it wasn't for you" Emily muttered

"Enough already" He snarled

"Look what you said was horrible Alex, Clara is one of us and you need to accept that" Emily said softly

"She is not one of us, she nearly got Jared killed" Alex growled

Emily shook her head and walked ahead of Alex, she couldn't believe he was acting the way he was acting and needed a bit of space. However she knew she couldn't get a bit of space until they found Clara and when she did she decided she wanted to be closer as they were the only two girls in the group.

Suddenly as she was walking a hand gripped her on the back of the neck and slammed her head against a tree causing everything to quickly go black.

Alex slowly laid her down on the ground and slowly dragged her over to a bench where he placed her. He was breathing quite heavily, he couldn't believe he had just knocked Emily unconscious but he knew he was doing the right thing.

# # #

_The little ran through the grass and past the tall trees, the birds sang as the sun shone. She giggled as her brunette hair was blown backwards by the wind; she reached a small pool in the woods and looked down at the clear water which showed the girl's reflection. _

_A small figure then flew past the girls head causing her to look up; she saw what seemed a tiny person floating in mid-air. On closer inspection she noticed that the little person had wings, they both smiled at each other and the little girl slowly outstretched her hand to touch the person. _

"_Clara"! A voice called_

_The little girl turned to see a man walking towards her; he was a tall man with short brown hair and green eyes. He had a kind face which lit up as soon as he saw her; however his smile dropped when he saw the little person touching Clara's hand. _

"_Look daddy, it's a fairy" Clara said beaming_

"_Yes I can see that sweetheart" Ben replied with an anxious look_

"_Isn't it beautiful"!_

_Ben nodded and slowly approached her, the fairy kept its small hand on Clara's for a few more seconds before it let go and flew away. He slowly knelt down next to Clara and looked at her as she watched the fairly fly away in wonder; she turned to her father smiling. _

"_Clara I need you to forget what you saw" Ben whispered seriously_

"_Why Daddy"? Clara asked confused_

"_Because seeing fairies is very bad thing, please promise me you will never say anything about this again" Ben pleaded _

"_Okay Daddy" Clara mumbled as Ben led her back through the woods to the small house. _

Clara slowly opened her eyes and stretched a little, she shivered as the wind blew around her causing her to tighten her jacket. She looked around the cemetery she sat in and shivered again but this time not because of the wind.

Alfie nudged her cheek with his nose and she responded by wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his fur. She looked at the grave she sat in front of and wiped the tears away from her face as she read the beautiful carved words.

_Here lies Benjamin Collins_

_You were taken from us because Heaven needed another angel; you will always be remembered as a great Husband, Father and Friend and will always be in our minds and hearts. _

Clara smiled at her father's grave; she wished he was here as she could use his advice as well as his comfort. Alfie sensed her sadness as he nudged her again, she smiled at him because with her father gone and mother missing that loveable dog was all the family she had at the minute.

"I knew you would be here" a voice said

Clara quickly looked around on the defensive and saw Jared standing there with a small smile on his lips.

"What are you doing here"? She muttered

"What do you think, I'm here to get you home" he replied

"The lair is not my home Jared, Alex made that clear" she snapped

Jared sighed at that and slowly moved closer to her, she noticed that he gasped as he walked and she knew that he was in terrible pain.

"Jared why did you come here, you shouldn't be walking around" Clara said

"I feel fine and if it meant getting you back it was something I had to do" he replied walking closer and slowly sitting next to her.

She smiled at that, but her smile disappeared as he grimaced slightly as he took a seat next to her. He looked at Ben's grave and gave a sad smile; Clara knew that her father was like a father to Jared as well.

"Clara what Alex said he didn't mean" Jared said quietly

"Yes he did and he was right, it was my fault you were stabbed"

"No it wasn't, you were trying to warn me"

"I know, but because of that you were hurt" Clara whispered tears threatening to fall

Jared gave a sad smile at that and took her hand in his, Clara looked into his eyes and couldn't help but smile. Alfie stood up and moved in between them, both of them scratched him behind the ears while.

"Clara, you are a Templar no matter what" Jared said firmly

"I don't think I'm ready for this" she replied

"Clara you have been ready for this your whole life, you are Ben Collins's daughter and you will become a great Templar"

# # #

Dark thunderclouds gathered in the sky, the wind blew through Tiberius's hair as he stood at the top of the Empire States Building staring at the dark clouds. He wore a black cloak which blew in the wind, he stood silent until he heard footsteps behind him and he turned and smiled as Alex approached.

"Alex, I have to say I didn't expect to be contacted by you" He said

"I'm only here because I need to be" Alex snapped

"Well then tell me why you're here" Tiberius replied

Alex moved over to him and looked out across the city of New York, he always thought that it was a great city and now standing there gazing at it he knew it had been confirmed. Tiberius came and stood next to him and looked out at the city with him.

"A storm is coming" Tiberius whispered

"Yes, it seems so" Alex responded looking up at the dark sky

"The Templars are blind, they don't see what could be ours for the taking" Tiberius said

Alex looked over at him and sighed, he wished it hadn't come to this but Jared had left him no choice. Besides Tiberius had been his friend before he betrayed him and it was good to talk to him like this again.

"Jared is a good person, he is brave and a strong leader but his mind has become clouded" Alex explained

"Jared was always distracted by females" Tiberius replied with a small smile on his lips

"Clara has turned him into some lovesick puppy; he hasn't had his head in the game since she came into his lives"

Alex bowed his head a little but Tiberius's smile widened, he looked back across New York and knew that soon every human would feel it when Hell arrives on Earth.

"Alex a war is coming and now it's time to decide whose side you're on, mine or Jared's" Tiberius said holding out his hand.

"I love Jared like a brother but he is making all the wrong choices, I have to join the side which will make a difference to the world" Alex answered shaking his hand.

"So Alex now that your with us, you must be the one to bring me the key" Tiberius informed

"I will, I have a feeling the Professor might know where it is hidden I will get it to you" Alex replied looking back out across New York.

"Don't worry Alex; Jared will see sense eventually trust me"

# # #

Clara and Jared continued to scratch Alfie behind the ears; they stayed in silence for what seemed hours however it was probably minuets. Eventually Jared looked at her and gave her a small smile which she returned.

"Are you ready to go home" He whispered

"Yes" Clara whispered back

He stood up and helped her to her feet; they began walking towards the exit of the cemetery while Alfie closely followed behind them.

"You know everyone's been out looking for you" Jared informed

"Really"? "Everyone"?

"Yes everyone, including Alex

Clara smiled at that and blushed a little as Jared put a protective arm around her shoulders, however something went wrong as she suddenly felt him slump a little and then gasped in pain and collapsed to his knees.

"Jared what's wrong"? Clara asked panicking

Jared didn't respond he just shook his head and closed his eyes; he then put his hand inside his jacket and pulled it out to see his hand covered in blood. He looked at Clara and gave her a small smile and then his eyes slowly closed and he collapsed to the floor unconscious.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Jared moved a little but did not open his eyes; Clara sat beside him watching him while the Professor slowly changed the dressing on his stab wound. Clara wiped away the tears that were starting to drop from her eyes, Alfie nudged her hand with his nose and she slowly placed her hand in his fur thankful for the comfort.

"Don't cry Clara, he'll be alright" The Professor whispered smiling

"Why did he come after me"? She asked looking at him

"Because he's too stubborn for his own good and he also cares about you" The Professor answered

Clara gave a small smile and gently ran a hand over his forehead pushing the fringe of his hair away from his face. His mouth crept up into a smile but still his eyes did not open, the Professor gave a small smile and slowly gestured Clara over to the armchairs in front of the fire and left Jared lying on the table.

"Do you have any idea what that thing in black was"? Clara asked as she sat down

"No, I suspect it was human otherwise it would not have been able to stand on the holy ground but still we do not know who the person was" The Professor explained gravely

"We need to find whoever it was" Clara said determined

"We will Clara, but first things first you must continue your training" he replied smiling

Clara nodded as she stroked Alfie who now had his head in her lap; she looked back at the Professor and saw that he was looking into the fire with sadness in his eyes. She knew he must have seen a lot of terrible things in his life, she also knew he was used to seeing so many people he cared about getting seriously injured and in some cases killed.

"Is everything alright Professor"? She asked

"For eight centuries the Knights Templar have protected the world from evil, many Templars laid down their lives to defeat evil and yet every time we still end up fighting an endless war and get nowhere close to victory" He explained with a sad look in his eyes

"Professor don't speak like that, I'm sure the Templars will be victorious one day" Clara replied gently

"Evil will never be destroyed Clara, it can be defeated but never destroyed"

"Professor what I have seen shows me that the Templars are the bravest and most dedicated people in the world, they have a rare ability to see Demons and they dedicate their lives to fighting it knowing that they will never be thanked and the world will never know what they do" she said

"Congratulations Clara, you understand what it's like to be a Templar" The Professor replied with a small smile

She smiled at that and stroked Alfie who still had his head in her lap, she then looked over at Jared who was still unconscious on the table. She remembered meeting him for the first time in that alleyway after he saved her from the demon, she remembered him saying that his name was Jared Stormbringer and that was the name he had chosen; she had never asked him about it, she had completely forgotten about it until now.

"Professor how did Jared get the name Stormbringer"? She asked

"Well what you have to understand Clara is that when a Templar becomes so good then Demons will fear them above anyone else, they feared me during my younger days then they feared your father, they even feared Tiberius for a short time and now they fear Jared because of his skills" The Professor explained

"Okay, so the Demons gave Jared the name Stormbringer"? Asked Clara

"Yes, apparently he has the fury of an oncoming storm so they gave him the name, all Demons fear it" The Professor said smiling

Clara smiled at that and looked back at Jared who was still on the table with his eyes closed, she then remembered him saying about the so called Spider Demon that had attacked Emily, they had found no trace of it and that seemed to scare them a lot.

"Still no sign of that Spider Demon thing"? Clara asked

"No, it seems that the most powerful demons are returning, Satan is stirring in Hell waiting to return" The Professor said darkly

Clara was scared at the look that appeared on his face, it was like looking at an old soldier who was remembering the horrible sights of war and held resentment and bitterness in their heart for the rest of their lives for being forced to fight.

"Has he ever risen before"? She asked

"Yes a long time ago, it was Sixteen Sixty Six; Satan had always been permitted on Earth to do what God said was his right, luring people into evil. However soon Satan attempted once again to conquer Heaven and Earth and raised an army, many Templars and other magical creatures lost their lives in the war however eventually Satan was defeated and was cast back to Hell where he would never be permitted to leave again"

"But he is trying to leave" Clara replied frightened at what she had just heard

"He is always trying to leave, his servants always finding ways to release him but they have failed every time because we have been there" The Professor said with a small smile.

Clara saw a look in the Professor's face that seemed he was remembering all these events out of personal memory instead of from a textbook, however she knew this was impossible there was no way he could have been alive in 1666.

Clara was about to say something about it when Jared groaned and slowly sat up looking very pale. The Professor and Clara both looked up and Jared smiled at them both but grimaced as he moved causing his hand to jump to his side.

"I'm afraid that will hurt for a while Jared, you lost a lot of blood" The Professor informed

Jared nodded and just looked at Clara; he gave her a small smile which she returned. He slowly got off the table and made his way over to them, as he approached Alfie left Clara and slowly walked over to him and nudged his nose against his knee.

"Hey Alfie" he whispered with a small smile as he stroked Alfie's fur

Clara found herself rising from the chair and before she had a chance to question what on earth she was doing she had wrapped her arms around him in a fierce embrace. She heard him gasp and she quickly dropped back looking anxious, however he was smiling down at her and she couldn't help but blush under his gaze.

The Professor gave a small smile at their small encounter and wondered what Ben would have to say if he witnessed his daughter and his student. However before anyone could say anything about the surprising hug the double doors burst open and a whirl of dust flew into the room where it seemed to materialised into a person.

Clara was shocked at the figure completely made of dust, however Jared and the Professor both seemed calm like they had experienced this many times before. They both turned to face and figure and just stared at as it spoke, but that wasn't the only thing that surprised Clara it also spoke in Hugo's voice.

"Professor Sebastian and I found Emily unconscious on a bench in the park, she looks like she was hit on the back of the head" Hugo's voice shouted in panic.

"Where is Alex"? Jared demanded immediately

"There's no sign of him anywhere" Hugo replied

"Is there any sign of Demon activity"? The Professor asked quietly

"None that I can see Professor"

The Professor and Jared fell quiet at that and shared a look with one another that made Clara worried. Hugo's voice was no longer there but the figure of dust still remained, finally the Professor turned back to it.

"Hugo bring Emily back here, we must discuss what is happening around here" The Professor ordered gravely

"Yes Professor" Hugo replied before the dust figure collapsed to the floor leaving nothing but a pile of dust which slowly faded away.

"What was that thing"? Clara asked in a small voice

"That was the Angel Dust, it's a way for us to contact each other" Jared answered not looking at her but at the Professor instead.

Clara remembered Jared explaining how the Angel Dust could be used to contact people and now she had seen how it exactly could do that. They stayed in silence for what seemed like hours until finally the doors to the library burst open and Hugo and Sebastian entered carrying Emily.

"On the table" The Professor instructed immediately

Clara couldn't help but think how often they had begun to gather around this table and how injuries were becoming too common for the group. The Professor immediately got to work assessing Emily's wound on the back of her head, however soon he announced that she would be all right and all they had to do was wait until she woke up.

Hugo and Sebastian carried her to her room where she could be comfortable, The Professor then turned back to the fire and stayed silent while Jared sat on the arm of one of the comfy chairs and looked at the floor in deep thought.

Hugo and Sebastian came back a few minutes later and Sebastian wrapped his arms around Clara straight away, sighing in relief that she was now safe in the lair once again. They all stayed in silence until finally Jared looked up from the floor and looked at the Professor who still had his back to all of them.

"Professor we have no other option, the Assembly must be notified" Jared said quietly

"Yes they do, I will tell him immediately" he replied turning around to face them all with a sad smile on his face.

Jared nodded at that and slowly raised himself to his feet, he was still quite weak from all the blood he had lost however Clara knew he would not rest until he was certain Emily was alright; after all he was the team's field leader and as field leader it was responsibility to ensure that all members of the team were alright.

"What's the Assembly"? Clara asked

"The Templar council, every Templar team sends a representative when every season to attend a meeting; It's sort of the UN of this world" Jared explained

"Where does this Assembly meet"?

"Where else than in Lucerna" The Professor replied

"Lucerna"? Clara asked confused, this world she had been dragged into would not stop surprising her it seemed.

"Lucerna is the Templar City, it is Latin for light" The Professor explained

"Where is it"? Sebastian asked suddenly interested

"It's underground, it stretches from France all the way to Jerusalem it is a very large city" The Professor answered with a small chuckle

"Wow" Clara and Sebastian said in unison

Jared, Hugo and the Professor laughed, however soon the laughter stopped as the double doors opened and Alex stepped in. Jared eyes widened and before anyone could stop him he had ran across the library and had lunged at Alex sending both of them crashing to the floor.

Jared got the upper hand and placed his knees on Alex's chest and pulled out a dagger from is belt and held it against Alex's throat. Everybody was frozen in fear and Clara was scared at what was going through Jared's mind.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Jared what the hell"! Alex screamed as the dagger was pushed to his throat

Jared however did not relent but kept his knees firmly on Alex's chest, everybody was frozen in shock nobody could believe what was happening in front of their eyes. Alex had fear in his eyes and Clara couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for him and feel sad at seeing the friendship they both shared slowly become strained.

"What happened to Emily"? Jared demanded

"I don't know we became separated, what's happened"! Alex shouted in reply

"How exactly did you become separated" Jared demanded

"Okay I left her alright, I needed time to cool down she was alright when I left" he shouted desperately

Jared punched Alex in the face and then stood up and stormed away from him, he reached the wall on the other side of the library and to the shock of the whole room he started punching the wall hard.

"Jared stop"! Clara screamed

She rushed forward and caught Jared's arm, however just looked at her with so much anger in his eyes she was temporarily paralysed by his stare. He then turned back to Alex who spat blood out onto the floor, they both glared at each other but before any of them could attack again the Professor stomped his cane down on the floor.

"You two need to stop fighting"! He bellowed

"Then ask him why he left Emily out there alone" Jared snarled

"Enough Jared, there is a war coming and we need to stick together otherwise were all doomed" The Professor said wishing the two friends would work out their differences.

"It's alright Professor, as usual Jared is doing most of his thinking with his cock instead of his brain" Alex spat

"Fuck you"! Jared shouted

Alex charged at Jared who also began charging at him, however before they made contact the Professor moved faster than Clara had ever seen him do and in what have been three seconds Jared and Alex both lay on the floor unconscious.

"Professor, what have you done"? Hugo asked nervously

"It was necessary I'm afraid, don't worry there alright just unconscious" he answered calmly

Everybody in the room couldn't believe what was happening in front of them, The Professor looked calm as he straightened his tie but Clara could see that he was hurt being made to this to his own students.

"Now please take these two to their rooms, I must alert the Assembly to the situation" he said before he made his way across the library and exited through the many different doors.

# # #

Tiberius breathed heavily as he rolled off of Lauren with a smirk on his face, he reached for a glass of water which sat on a table next to the bed and downed the cold liquid in one. He looked back to Lauren and gave another satisfied smile, however she had tears in her eyes but that did not unlock any sympathy from him.

"Enough with your crying girl" he snarled

"Why won't you let me go"! She suddenly shouted

Tiberius however didn't answer he just pulled back the covers and stood up stretching his naked body on display. Lauren turned over to her side and stared out of the window of the abandoned hotel which had now become the hideout for Tiberius and his demons.

"Lauren you have seen my hideout, if I let you go you would go straight to the Templars and tell them where we are and we can't have that I'm afraid" Tiberius informed as he dressed himself in black trousers and a black t-shirt

"I wouldn't I swear" she replied desperately

"I'm afraid your word means nothing to me, your father tried so hard to keep the key from me and you would tell Jared and the others everything"

She shook her head but Tiberius just walked over and grabbed her face in a vice grip, he forced a kiss on her lips before he exited smiling to himself. He walked out into a corridor and headed to a set of elevators which sat at the end of the hallway, he walked past many different hotel rooms.

He heard footsteps approaching behind him and turned to see Jinn running towards him wearing his black suit as usual. He stopped and waited for Jinn to catch up and when he did he was out of breath.

"You know for a demon I thought you would have better lung capacity" Tiberius said with a smirk

"Very funny" Jinn snarled

"What do you want Jinn"? Tiberius asked already annoyed with his presence

"Gadreel is demanding to know why you have not yet located the key"

Tiberius sighed and started walking towards the elevators, Jinn quickly followed waiting for an answer. Tiberius knew that he needed to find the key fast, Gadreel is an ancient demon and very powerful. Tiberius also knew that the Templars had never faced a demon like that before.

"Tell Gadreel that I have a spy inside the Templars and he will deliver the key to me" Tiberius said confidently

"You better be certain he will Tiberius, Lord Gadreel will not wait forever" Jinn replied warningly

"I am certain and I suggest you be careful what you say to me" Tiberius spat

"I'm not afraid of you Tiberius, you forget your no longer a Templar your nothing but a demon's dog"!

Tiberius moved fast and drew a dagger from his belt and pressed Jinn up against the wall with the blade lodged against his throat. His eyes grew wide and looked into the face of Tiberius which was full of fury.

"If you ever say that to me again, I will kill you" Tiberius whispered venomously

Jinn only nodded as Tiberius slowly retracted the dagger and began walking down the corridor again. Jinn stayed where he was for a minute before he slowly followed behind Tiberius, the former Templar still had his pride but Jinn knew that one day that would be his downfall.

# # #

Clara sat in the bell tower looking over across Manhattan, she felt a little bit jealous of all the people walking on the streets below they all had normal lives and were not worried about anything. Clara missed her mother and wished she was with her, she needed to know why her and her father tried so hard to protect Clara from this world.

"Clara" said a small voice

Clara turned her head and was surprised to see Emily standing there, she gave her a small smile which Emily returned and then slowly gestured for her to come and sit down. Emily sat down and slowly dangled her feet over the side just like Clara was doing.

"How's your head"? Clara asked

"Sore, I don't remember how it happened" Emily replied

"Alex said he left you" Clara muttered

"I know, he needed time to himself" Emily said quietly looking over at the magnificent city

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, Clara felt a little bit uncomfortable as she had never been alone with Emily since she met her. Emily turned to look at her and gave her a small smile which Clara returned.

"It's beautiful up here" Emily said closing her eyes

Clara nodded but continued to look at Emily, she had questions that needed answering and she hoped Emily could answer them. She knew in the pit of her stomach that it was wrong of her to ask this, but she couldn't resist it any longer.

"Emily"

"Hmm"

"Has Jared always been the way he is"? Clara asked

Emily opened her eyes and stared at Clara, she sighed and wondered whether or not she would regret telling her. However as she looked into Clara's eyes she could tell that she desperately wanted to know and she knew she could not refuse the answer.

"No, he was always more happy and cheerful but as the years went on the more angrier and serious he became"

"Why?" "What happened"?

"Many things Tiberius's betrayal, your father's murder and to top it off he had his heart broken" Emily answered

Clara was shocked at that, she was now starting to regret asking Emily about it but she still could not walk away. Emily looked at her with a sympathetic look on her face but Clara nodded encouraging her to continue.

"Her name was Cora, she was one of the Templars in Paris. Jared met her when he went to Lucerna, he fell head over heels in love with her"

"What happened"? Clara asked in a small voice

"It turned out Cora was a traitor, she was part of a rebellious group who were determined to get rid of the Assembly, they believed that the Templars should not be in hiding from the rest of the world and should be allowed to show their true selves in public. Anyway Cora and her rebellious group charged the palace of the Lord President who is the head of the entire Templar order, Jared tried to stop her and tried to save her but he was too late Cora died in the attack"

Clara had tears in her eyes, what she had just heard was so tragic she couldn't believe how Jared could ever smile or laugh after that happened to him. Emily gave a small sad smile and looked back out over Manhattan where she sighed.

"So that's why he acts more like a soldier"? Clara asked

"Yes, he became more of a leader and has never returned to the City of Light since he has too many bad memories there; he decided to concentrate on fighting demons and taking out his anger on them" Emily explained gravely

Clara looked out across Manhattan once again and tried to take in everything she had heard, everything was becoming more and more complicated and she didn't know how many more surprises she could take.

"Don't worry Clara, you can count on Jared he might have been hurt but he's fiercely loyal to all of us and he will get your mother back" Emily said smiling.

Clara smiled at that and very slowly reached out and took Emily's hand, she had never really had girlfriends most of the time it was just her and Sebastian. However sitting here with Emily, Clara knew that she had made a new friend.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Jasmine was laying on the uncomfortable bed once again, she didn't know how long she had been here for and she wondered whether or not she was going to die in his god forsaken room. However she was relieved to hear that Clara was safe, she also knew that Jared and Professor Taylor would train her as a Templar.

She heard movement on the other side of the door and heard the door slowly being unlocked, she sat up and faced the wooden door as it opened to reveal Tiberius standing there.

"Jasmine, how are you"? He asked pleasantly

"Spare me the concern Tiberius, we both know you couldn't give a dam" she growled in reply

Tiberius shook his head and slowly closed the door and leaned against it his arms crossed across his chest. He looked down at the floor obviously in deep thought, Jasmine watched him cautiously as she knew he was a snake that could strike at any moment.

"Jasmine, for now you are safe but if Clara doesn't bring me the key then I'm afraid that might change" Tiberius said gravely

"I'm not afraid of you Tiberius, your nothing but a murderer and I would rather die than allow Clara to come to you" she snarled

"Jasmine, we both know Clara is too much like Ben she will do anything to save someone she loves just like he would have done"

"You're a monster, you forget Tiberius that Clara will have Jared on her side and we both know how much he scares you" she shot back

Tiberius crossed the room fast and grabbed Jasmine roughly by the hair and dragged onto the floor. He pushed her face onto the dirty carpeted floor and placed his knee on her back to ensure she stayed there.

"I am afraid of no one" he hissed

"Then why do you act so angry when I mention Jared's name"?

"Because Jared betrayed me, he acted like he was my friend and my brother and then turned against me just like everybody else did" he whispered furiously.

To his surprise Jasmine started laughing, he growled and dragged her up from the floor and pushed her up against the wall and wrapped his hand around her throat. However she continued to smile and that infuriated him even more.

"What is so funny"! He demanded

"That you choose to believe that everyone turned their back on you, when instead you turned on them" she said smiling

"Be quiet" he snarled

"You betrayed your friends Tiberius, Jared loved you like a brother and you let him down"

"Be quiet" he repeated

"You murdered Ben in cold blood, the man was like a father to you he trained you and you killed him"

"SHUT UP"! He roared

He smacked her around the side of the head and caused her to fall where she hit her head on the metal frame of the bed. Tiberius swore he heard a crack as her skull bounced off the metal and landed unconscious on the floor.

He stood there in shock at what he had just done, he could see blood dripping onto the floor from her head and knew it was fatal. He ran to the door and threw it wide open, he stuck his head into the corridor and shouted as loud as he could.

"Help"! "Anyone please help"!

He heard footsteps thundering down the corridor and saw Jinn flanked by two stone coloured demons running towards him. He had never been so thankful to see demons in his life, all three of them entered the room and stared at Jasmine's lifeless body.

"Tiberius, what have you done"? Jinn asked gravely

"I don't know" was all he could manage

# # #

Clara was awoken by Sebastian shaking her, she stretched and sat up with an annoyed look on her face. Alfie jumped up onto her bed and began licking her face which made her smile.

"Come on sleepy head, the Professor wants to see everyone downstairs"

She grumbled as she searched for clean clothes which Emily had lent her, she also tried to fix her hair which was sticking up all over the place. She hoped the Professor didn't keep everyone too long because she was in desperate need of a shower.

Once she had deemed her hair passable she made her way downstairs, Alfie following behind her and entered the library where everybody was waiting. She noticed that Jared and Alex had dark looks on their faces and were separated by Emily and Hugo standing between them. Clara stood next to Sebastian who looked like he had only arrived, last night he had returned home to ensure his parents he was alright. To make sure that he was safe Hugo was staying with him which Sebastian seemed to enjoy, it looked like he had made a new friend and Clara was happy for him.

"This morning I received a reply from the Assembly" The Professor announced

"What did they say"? Jared asked

Clara looked at him and remembered what Emily told her last night about Cora, the girl who Jared met in Lucerna and who died trying to assassinate the Lord President of the Templar order.

"Unfortunately they consider the situation to be a high risk to the order, therefore they are sending another Templar team to assist us" The Professor explained.

To Clara and Sebastian's surprise Jared, Emily, Alex and Hugo all groaned. The Professor gave them a small smile and then caught Clara's confused look, he smiled at that he understood that there was a lot of things Clara needed to learn.

"You see Clara, another Templar team sent by the Assembly is bad news" The Professor said

"Why"? "Aren't they coming to help"?

"More like coming to take over" Jared muttered

"What do you mean take over"? Sebastian asked

"You see when the Assembly send another team, it means that they think we can't handle the situation so they send another team in to handle it" Emily explained

Clara actually felt sorry for them, she knew she would hate it if people were sent in to do her job because somebody else thought she couldn't handle it. The Professor stood back to the face the fire as he usually did, however Jared stepped forward and stared at the back of the Professor's head.

"Professor, what about the key"? He asked

" I suppose it will be in the other teams hands" The Professor replied softly

"I will not let the other team find it, New York is our territory and we will be the ones to find it" Jared responded confidently

The Professor turned around at that and smiled at Jared showing his natural ability of leadership and determination. However nobody else was smiling, they instead wore looks of confusion and annoyance.

"How do you expect we do that Jared, we have no idea where to look" Emily said quietly

"I think it's time we paid a visit to the Warlocks" Jared answered looking into the Professor's eyes.

To Clara and Sebastian's surprise everybody else gasped, she would have wondered what the matter with them was if it hadn't been for the word Warlocks. Jared however did not look away from the Professor's face, he continued to stare and did not turn his head until Alex made his voice known.

"Are you crazy, the Warlocks hate the Templars after what happened in the uprising"

"That was a long time ago Alex, besides the Warlocks are one of the oldest races around if anyone knows about the key I'm betting it's them" he replied darkly

"But Jared they won't help us" Hugo protested

"They don't want Satan to rise, if it means stopping him then they will help us" he said turning back to the Professor

The Professor stayed silent just staring at Jared, everybody else was now staring at him waiting for his answer. Clara felt like the silence was never going to break, until finally the Professor's mouth opened and speech slowly came out.

"I agree with Jared, the Warlocks must be consulted" he said softly

Everybody stared at the Professor like he had gone crazy, however he did not look at them his eyes were still firmly on Jared. Something unsaid went between them and Clara knew that the Professor would not change his mind.

"But the Warlocks live all the way in Australia, how are we supposed to get there"? Alex demanded hoping to deter Jared from going.

The Professor didn't answer but moved over to one of the many bookcases and slowly let his hand hover across the many different books until it laid on a dusty black leather book with gold writing across the cover.

He pulled it down from the bookcase and walked over to the main table and opened it causing a cloud of dust to erupt from the old pages. He began mumbling to himself as he flicked through the different pages which had turned from white to yellow with age.

Finally he turned to a page and tapped his finger on it, Clara couldn't see what was written on the page as all the words were in Latin like all of the books in the library were.

"There is a gatekeeper here in New York, he will be able to send you to Australia" The Professor whispered

"Are you sure that's wise Professor, gatekeepers aren't the most trustworthy of creatures" Emily muttered

"It is the only the way, the other team will arrive in a matter of days we must move fast if we are to get answers" he replied

Jared looked at the book and nodded, the rest of the team seemed nervous and that made Clara nervous. She had no idea what a gatekeeper was and right now she did not want to find out.

"Whereabouts is the gatekeeper"? Jared asked

"Where else do you find a gatekeeper than in New York's most famous gateway, the gatekeeper is on Ellis Island of course"

Jared nodded and turned to the rest of the team, he gave a small smile to Clara who couldn't resist to give one back. He looked at them all and sighed he needed his team more than ever now and he hoped they were still a team.

"Suit up everyone, looks like were going Down Under"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The sun was setting by the time they reached Ellis Island, the buildings seemed abandoned but that didn't make the group any less nervous. Jared was the only one who looked calm as he stared up at the old immigration inspection centre, Clara didn't know why somebody called a gatekeeper would decide to stay here but the world she had now been introduced had already confused her.

"So, any ideas on where he would be"? Alex asked

"Looks like we will have to look around" Jared answered

Clara had noticed that Jared and Alex were currently being civil towards one another, however she was sure that it wouldn't last long and soon they would be yelling at each other again.

"Maybe we should split up" Alex suggested

Clara thought she saw Jared's eyes darken but when he turned around to face him they were normal again. Clara could tell that Jared was losing his trust in Alex and that made her feel sorry for them both.

"Good idea, Alex me and you will go right" Jared said with a small smirk, he had Alex right where he wanted him

"Me and Clara will go left" Emily quickly added with a small wink to Clara who smiled

"I guess that means me and Simon will go straight on then" Hugo muttered

They all split up after agreeing to meet back in half an hour if they couldn't find the gatekeeper, as they split up Clara glanced back at Jared and noticed that he was pushing the fringe of his blonde hair out of his eyes.

Clara turned back to face Emily and caught her smirking, Clara looked confused at that which caused Emily to suddenly burst out in laughter.

"What on earth is so funny"? Clara asked bemused

"Oh Clara, it seems your another one to have fallen for Jared's charms"

"I have not"!

Emily rolled her eyes and followed it up with a smirk, she knew that Jared had his charm which caused a lot of girls to become attracted to him. Unfortunately she hadn't seen anyone steal his heart since Cora and she hoped that maybe Clara would be the girl to finally break through the barriers he had placed around his heart.

# # #

Jasmine laid unconscious on a surprisingly comfortable bed, Tiberius had made sure she was moved to a more comfortable room after what happened. He watched as her chest moved up and down signalling that she was breathing, however bandages were wrapped tightly around her head and small red patch from the blood was visible.

"We've done all we can, the injury wasn't as serious as we thought at first but still Lord Gadreel has told me to inform you that if you harm the human prisoner again it will result in serious consequences" Jinn explained

"I will not harm her again" Tiberius muttered

"You better make sure you don't, without her we have nothing we can use to gain the key from the daughter" Jinn said firmly

"I told you I won't" Tiberius growled

Jinn nodded and then turned back to Jasmine who looked like she was sleeping, Tiberius considered her lucky as for that moment Jasmine looked peaceful and Tiberius would give anything to feel at peace again.

"Have to say Tiberius, I always thought humans were nothing but weak creatures however you have shown that you're full of anger, ruthlessness and hatred; you could be a demon" Jinn said smiling proudly

The smile however quickly vanished when Tiberius grabbed the front of his suit and pushed him up against the wall hard. Jinn looked into the young man's eyes and saw a fury which even terrified him; Tiberius would always be a fearful enemy no matter what side he fought on.

"I will never be one of you, do you understand never"! He spat

Jinn nodded and then sighed in relief when Tiberius finally let go, Tiberius then turned back to Jasmine and looked at her with a look full of guilt. He couldn't believe what he had done, he always liked Jasmine and he never thought he could harm her. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly Ben would have done to him if he had been alive.

# # #

Jared and Alex were walking passed the old building which had now been turned into a museum; they did not speak to each other which meant there was nothing but silence around them.

They wondered where the gatekeeper would be, after all gatekeepers were not considered to be the most honest of creatures and had been known to attack unsuspecting humans in dark and abandoned places.

"Are you sure the gatekeeper is here"? Alex asked

Jared didn't answer but allowed Alex to walk ahead of him before he grabbed him from behind and forced him down to the ground drawing a dagger in the process which he again held to Alex's throat.

"Jared, what are you doing"! Alex shouted

"Where did you really go when you left Emily"? Jared demanded

"I told you I just needed some time to myself, I just walked around for a bit" Alex yelled

Jared growled, Alex began struggling but it was no good Jared had Alex pinned down with no escape. Jared kept the dagger firmly against his throat, Alex knew he had to convince Jared of his innocence or he would be dead for sure.

"Jared please listen to me" Alex pleaded

"Why should I, ever since Clara joined us you've shown her nothing but resentment and you have not acted like a Templar" Jared shot back

Alex nodded at that, however he started to feel guilty in the pit of his stomach. After his meeting with Tiberius on the top of the Empire States Building he had been doing his best to hide his true intentions from Jared and The Professor who he knew suspected him of foul play.

"Jared I swear to God himself, I am as loyal to you as I have ever been" he whispered looking into Jared's blue eyes.

"You better be truthful Alex, swearing in the lord's name will bind you to it"

"I am being truthful"! Alex growled in annoyance

"For now let's say I believe you, but why did you abandon Emily you know the code we never leave a Templar behind on a mission" Jared said

"We weren't on a mission"! Alex protested

"You were supposed to be looking for Clara, I consider that a mission" Jared replied

Alex slowly nodded and attempted to sit up, however Jared still had his dagger firmly against his throat forcing him to stay where he was. Alex looked into Jared's blue eyes and knew that he had to be careful, Jared's fury was legendary.

"Please Jared, we've been friends since were kids you must believe me" Alex begged

The dagger in Jared's hand twitched a little, Alex could sense that a battle was raging inside him; his conscience was deciding whether or not to trust his old friend. Finally the battle was over and Jared dropped the dagger on the floor and allowed Alex to sit up.

"You have my trust again, however if you break it I will forever be your enemy" Jared warned

"I won't betray you Jared, I promise" Alex replied with a small smile

# # #

Clara and Emily had not yet seen any sign to indicate that the gatekeeper was there, they only had about ten more minutes until they were supposed to meet back up with the others.

"Emily"?

"Hmm"

"How many Templars are there in the world"? Clara asked

"There's a team pretty much in every country, plus there's thousand's more stationed in Lucerna" Emily explained

Clara was shocked at that, she hadn't expected there to be that many in the world. Now she understood why there was a large city buried underground in Europe, it was ensure that all Templars could fit into the city if the time called for it.

"Has there been a time where all Templars have joined together, you know to form an army"?

"Only once, during the last time when Satan led the armies of hell out into the world all the Templars joined together to face him"

"Did the President give the order"?

"No, the legend says that God gave almighty powers to one Templar who would become known as the chosen one. The chosen one claimed to be the only one on Earth who could defeat Satan; therefore he went to the Assembly and demonstrated his magnificent powers. After that he ordered all the Templars to join as one to conquer Satan's armies, they did and we won"

Clara had to admit this was a very interesting story, she knew that the Templars were bound to many myths and legends; however she couldn't hope to wonder whether this one was true.

"Has there ever be only been one Chosen One"? She asked

"Yes, however the legend says that whenever evil becomes so strong that it threatens to destroy the world then another Chosen One will rise and will unite the Templars once again" Emily explained with a small smile.

"Do you think one will rise"?

"Maybe, but I suggest you be careful talking about this stuff around Jared he doesn't enjoy hearing it"

"Why not"? Clara asked confused

"Because the legend was what Tiberius always talked about when he was a Templar, he believed he could be the one to unite the Templars against the Demons" Emily whispered gravely

Before Clara could respond a cloud of black smoke appeared out of nowhere causing both of the girls to start coughing and begin gasping for air. Emily grabbed Clara's hand so she wouldn't lose her and tried to the best to find a way out of the smoke.

Finally they both managed to escape the cloud but they both fell onto the floor coughing their guts out. Clara looked up through watery tears and managed to scream as she looked upon a weird creature standing in front of her.

He was tall and his skin was blood red and was accompanied with red horns. His eyes were black as a beetle and seemed to stare straight into Clara's soul; Emily had also noticed him and had to suppress a gasp at seeing him.

"Who approaches my gate"! He bellowed in a deep booming voice that seemed to echo of the buildings around them.

"Emily what is he"? Clara squeaked

"Ianitoris" Emily muttered in reply

"What"?

"It's Latin, for Gatekeeper"

Clara turned back to the creature and suddenly she did not want to anywhere through a gate with him. But then she remembered her mom and knew that finding the key was the only way to ensure her safety and if that meant facing this gatekeeper then she was going to just that.


End file.
